


The Beginning and the End

by Deathangelgw



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Dark, Exhibitionism, F/M, Foursome - F/M/M/M, Heterosexual Sex, Humor, Language, M/M, Multi, Sappy, Slash, Threesome - M/M/M, Violence, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 12:47:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 40,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10640166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deathangelgw/pseuds/Deathangelgw
Summary: Jared has been searching for the One who was prophesied to be the beginning and the end alongside Jensen and Jeff. Will they be able to find the person before the Faithful?





	1. Chapter 1

Title: The Beginning and the End pt. 1/?

Author: Deathangelgw

Author email: deathangelgw@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The boys don’t belong to me, no matter how much I wish it. The OCs are mine though so, sorry babes!!

Warnings: AU, RPF, slash, het, OCs, sap, humor, angst, violence, language, masturbation, voyeurism.

Pairings: Jared/Jensen/JDM, Jared/Jensen/JDM/OFC, hinted Steve Carlson/Eliza Dushku, Eric Kripke, Samantha Ferris, Jim Beaver, Mike Rosenbaum, Tom and Jaime Welling, Chad Michael Murray.

Rating: from PG-NC-17

Summary: Jared has been searching for the Chosen One who will be the Beginning and the End along with Jensen and Jeff. Will they find the Chosen One before the Faithful destroy them?

Beta: Done by my silly roomie! Eeeeee!

A/N: This came to me in a dream and then…rooted itself and became a plot! Jeeeez!! Thanks to Stardancer54 for the bouncing off of ideas too...you’re always great for that love! Feedback is loved and welcome!

 

‘thoughts’

 

The soft sounds of laughter bounced along the stone walls as Jared walked along the lit hall. He smiled as he heard the others relaxing and enjoying each other and making the newcomers feel at home. He knew that Jensen would be all right with Jeff, but he had to see if bringing Jensen there was right. When he had first found Jeff, he had thought that perhaps the older man was who he had been searching for at the command of the Elam seer, Sati. Jeff hadn’t been exactly as he had thought and had turned out to be like him as one of the Finders. Since then, they had both been searching whenever they could for the one that had been prophesized centuries ago that would be the end and the beginning of a new life for the Elam and humankind.

 

Sighing, Jared rolled his shoulders and then his neck as he arrived at the room that Sati stayed in most of the time. He knocked once and went inside when she called for him to enter and smiled as he ducked inside and was greeted with her gentle smile and knowing dark eyes. She was a petite young woman that had Indian descent in her blood, which showed in her dark black hair, brown skin, and almond shaped eyes as well as the small red dot in the center of her forehead. She was also one of the most powerful seers that had been born into their group in centuries. She had a special talent for finding what one’s destiny would be by looking into the person’s eyes. Jared trusted her with his life and she felt the same for him. It was her gentle words telling him why he was so special that had put him onto the path that he was on now.

 

Strolling over to where she was sitting on a reed mat between a pair of candle holders that lit her body with a gentle glow, Jared sat down into a lotus form and placed his hands on hers where they rested in front of her. She turned her hands up and wrapped her slender fingers around his hands just a bit. “You bring another to us today, Jared. You think that he might be one of us?” she asked softly and her accent lilted through her voice with amusement.

 

“I think so, yes. Jeff thinks so as well. I don’t know if he is the Chosen One, but I’ve caught him using his gifts unknowingly,” Jared replied softly and looked up at her through his bangs.

 

“He is special to you like Jeff. A good compliment to your soul though I sense that you are still feeling like you are missing something,” she whispered and then looked up at him. “He is not the Chosen One, but don’t give up hope, Jared. I believe it strongly in my heart that you will find the Chosen One and then your destiny shall truly begin,” she stated reassuringly as his face fell at her declaration of Jensen’s status.

 

“What is my destiny, Sati? You say this every time I or Jeff or any of the other Finders do bring someone. Why is my destiny linked so much with the Chosen One? Am I someone special outside of being one of the Finders?” he asked desperately before sitting back and running his hand through his hair in frustration. He had been so *sure* that Jensen was the Chosen One.

 

“Your destiny as well as Jensen and Jeff’s are linked deeply with the Chosen One’s. I can not say more because I do not know more, Jared. Don’t give up hope. Enjoy your love,” Sati said gently as she also sat back. He looked at her and she smiled at him warmly then wiggled her fingers. “I enjoy watching your show every Thursday. You truly do love that show, don’t you?” she commented and he laughed.

 

“I do. It’s so fun and the storylines are interesting and working with Jensen is just…amazing,” Jared enthused as he relaxed into talking about his outside life.

 

“Jensen helped you when Sandy betrayed you. I’m glad,” Sati murmured tenderly and Jared’s smile became affectionate as he thought back to that time, not even disturbed by her clear knowledge of that time in his life.

 

“He did, especially since Jeff couldn’t be there. How…how is Sandy?” Jared inquired hesitantly and threaded his long fingers together nervously as he asked about his ex. He and Sandy had broken up when he’d found her with another man, one who had turned out to be one of their enemy, the Faithful. She had even been giving away some of what Jared had been doing to the group and the Elam had had to evacuate their old base because of it.

 

He’d broken it off with her immediately, but the betrayal had stabbed him deep and he’d feared along with several others, Jeff and Jensen prominent in that group, that he’d never recover from the hurt. But he had and had instead found a deeper love in Jensen to compliment with Jeff’s, whom he’d been seeing off and on while dating Sandy. After Sandy, their relationships had taken off into a world that far surpassed anything he’d ever held with Sandy.

 

“She is one of them now. I’m sorry, Jared, but she had already been on the road of betrayal not long after you’d met her,” Sati answered with a sympathetic smile.

 

“Why did you let me stay with her if you knew this?” Jared asked in surprise. He hadn’t known that Sandy had been an operative even at the beginning.

 

“Because there are reasons for meeting the people who come into our lives. You needed to realize your purpose and to find Jeff and Jensen. Do you remember that you never once brought Sandy here? I think, even then, you knew she was wrong, but there was a part of you fighting to be normal in a world where *we* are becoming the new ‘normal’,” Sati responded and grinned when he nodded sadly. “Don’t worry, Jared. Everything has a purpose. Have you met the new member, Andrew?”

 

Blinking at the strange request, Jared thought back to who he had been introduced to. “Young guy, my age, about six foot or so? Treber, right?” he replied thoughtfully as he remembered the kid who had greeted him enthusiastically, extolling on how he liked the show and how his eldest sister loved the show. “He’s a big fan, if I remember correctly,” he added with a chuckle.

 

“Keep an eye on him. I think he might be the connection to the Chosen One,” Sati said, which earned a startled look from Jared. She smiled serenely before standing up and stretching just a bit, balancing on the muscled arm that Jared offered as he stood as well. “Time to go and greet the newcomers,” she declared with a chuckle.

 

“There are a lot of them. We grow every day,” Jared agreed and grinned as she placed her hand on his arm while they walked out. He courteously bent his arm to give her a better grip as they walked down the hall to the main gathering hall.

 

“Yes, we do. Human kind is adjusting to the destruction it has caused. Mother Earth is directing us to that adjustment. The Chosen One shall lead us completely into the new era and we shall know peace upon the birth of freedom,” Sati intoned mystically and Jared smiled in anticipation. It was what all of the Elam hoped for. The Chosen One was to bring about the bridge between humans and the Elam, who were basically humans gifted with extraordinary powers.

 

Jared’s own power was a mix of many things, but his strengths were super speed and telekinesis as well as an affinity for detecting others like him, which made him a perfect Finder. Jeff’s own strengths were healing and the ability to speak with animals as well as the same affinity as Jared. Jared was certain that Jensen’s strengths were in telepathy and creating illusions. But he needed Sati to confirm it, so that had been why he had brought Jensen to one of their Gatherings. All of the Elam had the same basic powers of the mind in telepathy, telekinesis, and semi-control of nature as well as abnormal speed and strength that was ten times that of a normal human. But all of them also had specialties that were honed and helped them to live.

 

The Finders were a special group that was able to sense a human that was exhibiting their powers of the Elam. Jared was the leader, having taken over from his old teacher from high school, Frank Kiefer, who had been watching over him when he was younger as he had started exhibiting his own Elam powers. Frank had confronted him not long after he had landed his role on Gilmore Girls and it had made such sense to Jared that he had eagerly embraced it and had become dedicated to the Elam from the get go. Though they were secretive and he had to watch his powers, Jared felt that his work was the most fulfilling thing he did in life.

 

His thoughts were interrupted as they arrived at the Chiming Hall, which was what a young Sati had christened it when she had first arrived. There were crystals set up on all of the lamps that circled the room and a breeze always seemed to be blowing around the room, creating the chiming noise that soothed all of the Elam, for it represented their connection to Mother Earth as well. Even as they walked in, Jared felt his own spirit calm and become peaceful and he smiled and nodded here and there to the gathered as he led Sati to the small platform that was in the center of the room. He then moved over to where Jeff and Jensen were, shaking his head just a bit when Jeff sent him a curious look and smiled sympathetically when Jeff’s face fell just a bit in disappointment. But their attention was directed towards the front as the ceremony began.

 

“Greetings my family and welcome to all who join us here this night. You are all here by invitation or by calling and are welcome with open arms. I would like to ask our newcomers to please step forward and surround the platform, for it is a tradition with our group that we greet the newcomers into the warmth of the Mother Earth and our family,” Sati explained with a gentle smile as she stood in the middle of a trio of candle stands.

 

Jensen glanced at Jeff and Jared as several people began moving towards the front and Jared and Jeff both nodded encouragingly as they smiled. Smiling back, Jensen shifted down to the center dais and took his place next to a girl who looked no older than twelve and a large woman who was most likely about in her early thirties. The group faced Sati as the rest of the Elam gathered around the group and held their right hands out over the collection of people while raising their left hands above their heads. Sati mirrored the Elam and smiled. “Mother Earth calls to us and we shall answer her.”

 

“She is always our guide…always our light,” the Elam answered her and their heads tilted forward.

 

“Her children shall gather until the Chosen One leads us to peace,” Sati intoned joyfully and a soft glow began to surround the newcomers.

 

“Blessed be that time. May peace come and life shine through,” the Elam responded and the glow intensified before dying out, leaving the newly welcomed Elam bewildered and almost high from the peace and warmth that had filled them with both understanding and welcome.

 

Sati smiled at the newcomers as they looked up in amazement. “Welcome to the Elam, my children. The ones who brought you here will explain everything in detail. Be happy in our Mother’s love,” she declared and the Elam applauded and cheered as the newcomers turned to face them. Jensen looked over at Jared and Jeff with a delighted smile and they laughed and clapped in answer.

 

Weaving around the other people as the newcomers disbanded and mingled with the gathered Elam, Jensen grinned as he came up to them and was immediately hugged. “So this is what you meant whenever I heard you two talking about gathering when we were in LA,” he commented as he stood back and fairly beamed at them. Jared could very much remember how he’d felt when he’d been inducted.

 

“So, have an idea about who you are now? Not so weird, is it?” Jeff responded as he squeezed Jensen’s shoulder reassuringly.

 

“Yea, it’s actually…comforting to know I’m not alone. But Jared’s assumptions were correct in that my strength is in telepathy and illusions. Nice call by the way, Jare,” Jensen replied and grinned as Jared laughed.

 

“Keep it under your hat, Jen…we’re heard, not seen,” Jared retorted with a wink and also a hidden warning. It was a common rule they all lived by. They don’t exhibit their powers unless it was absolutely necessary and only if they could cover it up as just some miraculous happening. A few times some of the newcomers would get over exuberant in trying out their enhanced powers and they’d had to be hidden until the brouhaha had died down or had been forgotten.

 

“Gotcha…been doing that for years, ya know? But this…” Jensen trailed off as he flexed his hand and grinned.

 

“We take the newcomers to our hidden base and train them for three days. Now that you’ve awakened, the learning curve is incredible. You’ll learn how to fight, how to hone your abilities, and build your connection with the rest of the Elam. Jared and I will be teaching you also one more thing,” Jeff explained with a smile.

 

“What’s that?” Jensen asked as he grinned even wider at them.

 

“How to find others like us. You’re a Finder, Jensen. I think you know this quite well,” Jeff answered and winked as Jensen frowned and nodded slowly.

 

“I always felt attracted to others who felt the same as me…” Jensen murmured thoughtfully. He looked up then and cocked an eyebrow. “Allison and Kristen…most of the Smallville cast…and others I’ve met. They’re part of this?”

 

“Yeup. Allison and Kristen can manipulate objects at the molecular level and can change their density. Tom and Jaime both can twist reality, which is so freaking cool to watch when they get pissy!” Jared replied and Jensen laughed.

 

“Mike can leave his body and move things and you remember Eliza Dushku? She can teleport,” Jeff added and Jensen coughed as he shook his head while grinning.

 

“That explains some of those pranks! Mike’d act all innocent when things would fall over suddenly on set!” Jensen declared and Jeff and Jared laughed and nodded.

 

“Yea, well stay away from Chad when he’s drunk. He tends to become a fire spout if you know what I mean,” a deeper voice commented before a congenial hand clapped Jensen on the shoulder, surprising him. “Welcome to the group, Jenny-boy. Knew you were one of us,” Steve added as he grinned at his friend.

 

“Steve, you’re one of us too?! I never knew!” Jensen cried before hugging his friend and slapping him on the back in greeting.

 

“Some Finder…couldn’t even tell his best friends were gifted,” Steve teased his friend as he draped his arm across Jensen’s shoulders.

 

“So what’s yours?” Jensen asked after shooting his friend a glare.

 

“And when did you get here? I thought you weren’t coming,” Jared added with a grin.

 

“Hitched a ride with Eliza. She’s over there visiting with Sati,” Steve explained and grinned as Jensen snorted in amusement while Jared and Jeff nodded in understanding. “And as for my power…let’s just say that my singing tends to get people to do things they normally wouldn’t do,” he added with a naughty smirk.

 

“Remember that episode we did with Andy? That’s Steve’s power as well as an incredible constitution. He can eat anything and it won’t affect him,” Jared elaborated with a wry grin.

 

“Comes in handy when I have to drink cocky sons of bitches under the table,” Steve remarked casually and Jensen laughed at that.

 

“Wow…that’s just…there’s a lot to learn,” Jensen stated with a grin as he shook his head. He looked over as Jeff patted his shoulder.

 

“It is a lot, but you adjust and then, life goes on,” Jeff replied and winked.

 

Jared smiled at them as they continued filling Jensen in on Elam life. Yea, life went on and new people joined them every day. That was just how it was meant to be. And it was up to Jared and the other Finders to make sure that everyone came into that new life safe and sound. Peace would come soon. He was sure on it. And nothing would stop him until he found the Chosen One. Not life or the Faithful.

 

He focused again as Steve brought up the fact that he was going to be at the convention in Chicago that November. He grinned as the older man elbowed Jensen. “Dude, you so have to come! The fans’ll love it and we could do a concert for them!”

 

“Yea, come on Jensen! You and me together up there! I mean, even Kripke is going and I bet we could then get Jeff here to go and have a Winchester family happy time up front!” Jared cajoled his lover and flashed his dimples for added measure. Jeff groaned along with Jensen and Steve laughed.

 

“The dimples…they get me every time,” Jensen growled and Jared laughed in triumph before hi-fiving Steve. Mission accomplished. The fans were going to love it! With that thought in mind as they all headed for the outside courtyard that connected to the secret passageway to their base, Jared had a feeling that things were going to be getting nice and exciting from then on out.

 

TBC

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 

_Telepathic speech_

 

“Good fucking lord, I forgot how much conventions take it out of me,” Steve groaned as he sprawled out on the bed in Jensen, Jared, and Jeff’s room. It was actually ‘Jared’s Room’ and part of a multi-room suite that they’d decided to share with Steve to keep up appearances that they as a trio were just ‘friends’. In public, that’s all they were. It was in private that things became a lot more ‘friendly’.

 

Jared smirked as he grabbed a beer from the mini-fridge that was sitting in the corner and popped the top off. “And that was just checking in! Wait until we get to your performance and our question panels!” he retorted and Steve groaned even louder as he turned onto his side and curled up into a fetal position.

 

“Gaia help me…” Steve cursed softly and looked over as a snort answered him.

 

“Dude, you’re so helpless. And don’t be blasphemous,” Jensen chided as he put his clothes that he’d been wearing into his suitcase after having showered and changed from their trip. He’d changed quite a bit since being inducted into the Elam. His training as both a member of the Elam and as a Finder had made him more confident in himself and in the world around him. His work had gone to a whole new level and Jared had even remarked that he’d had a bit of trouble keeping up. But he was adjusting to his new level of energy and confidence and they’d gotten their rhythm back easily.

 

“This coming from the noob…” Steve groused good-naturedly before pushing himself up to a sitting position. “I can’t believe how much you’ve changed, man. I told Chris and he still doesn’t believe me. Told him he should’ve accepted coming to this con just to see you,” he added with a grin.

 

Jensen grinned at the mention of his other good friend while he buttoned his shirt. He still couldn’t believe that Chris was able to walk through walls. “Yea well, we’ll surprise him for his birthday,” he replied and Steve laughed.

 

“Better get a move on, Jared…we’ve got only forty five minutes until we have to go for the panel,” Jeff suggested as he came back into the room in just a towel as his hair dripped wetly down his shoulders and chest.

 

“I think I’d rather just lick you clean,” Jared growled appreciatively as he wrapped an arm around Jeff’s chest and nibbled at his neck to prove his words.

 

“And hurt the fans? Jared…” Jeff teased his lover and grinned before leaning his head back for the kiss that Jared leaned in for. Reaching back, Jeff thwapped Jared on the ass, earning a yelp. “Git!”

 

“That any way to talk to your superior?” Jared retorted with a pout, but he grabbed his own clothes and scooted into the bathroom quickly as Jensen laughed.

 

“Swear that boy gets cockier every day,” Jeff grumbled, but his grin was affectionate as it creased his face.

 

“All ready to face the masses of teenage and middle age hormonal women, Papa Winchester?” Steve taunted Jeff as he stretched back out onto the bed and casually crossed his legs while watching John drop his towel and pull on his clothes.

 

“Always,” Jeff rumbled and grinned over at Steve before buttoning his own shirt. He chuckled as Jensen flopped onto the bed next to Steve and stretched out. “Don’t you be gettin’ comfortable with that lay about,” he warned his other lover and Jensen laughed.

 

“Nothing to worry about here. Steve’s been dealing for the opposite team for a while now,” Jensen replied and Steve spluttered and sat up.

 

“You readin’ me again, boy!?” Steve demanded in embarrassment and Jensen laughed as he slapped his leg. One of the things they’d had to train Jensen in was not to invade people’s thoughts so randomly and carelessly.

 

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t have *some* fun. “Dude, she’s on your mind all the time! I’m surprised you didn’t call her already to bemoan her lack of presence!” he retorted and snorted with laughter as Steve fidgeted.

 

“He called her earlier, though I’m not sure who ‘she’ is,” Jeff reported and Jensen roared with laughter as Steve blushed to the tips of his ears.

 

“It’s Eliza,” Jared stated as he returned to the room and Jensen choked on his laughter as Jeff looked impressed.

 

“How the hell did you know, Padalecki?!” Steve demanded as he stared at Jared in shock, not even acknowledging his best friend, who was cracking up on the bed.

 

Smiling back serenely as he ran his towel through his hair, Jared winked. “Eliza told me. Actually, she asked me for ‘tips’,” he explained and all three men were coughing in shock and laughing as they stared at Jared.

 

“I’m gonna have to have a talk with that girl,” Steve muttered as he fidgeted.

 

“Yea, to get her to get more tips from the gay man!” Jensen remarked and rolled off of the bed as he laughed to avoid Steve’s hit. He ran from the room with Steve chasing him as he heard the knock on the door. He ‘pushed’ Steve onto a couch as he went to the door and grinned as Steve cursed at him mentally in retaliation. He turned back to the door and smiled at the obviously nervous young lady that was at the door. “Yes?” he asked politely and noted the name tag that clearly had her as one of the ‘help’.

 

“M-Mr. Ackles, sir…they’re ready for you and Mr. Padalecki and Mr. Morgan,” she replied and seemed to relax when Jensen threaded a light thought in her mind that she was fine and everything was going to be good.

 

“That’s great. We’re almost ready here, right boys?” Jensen turned to call into the suite and grinned as a couple of calls floated out before he turned back to the nervous aide. “Just give us a minute, all right?” he suggested and she grinned in relief and nodded before coming in at his invitation.

 

The door on the other side of the suite opened and Jared came out rolling up his sleeves as Jeff exited from their room. Jensen grinned at the obvious ploy used by Jared using his speed to make it look like that was where he was going to be staying to keep the public from knowing. Jeff smiled warmly at the aide and shook her hand and was followed by Jared before they left the room and headed for the large conference room that was going to be their ‘interrogation room’ for the next two hours.

 

They met up with Eric, Bob Singer, Kim Manners, and Bob Edlund on the way down to the panel and chatted a bit about what might be asked. Their journey was, thankfully, uneventful and fangirl-mobbing free, though all of them chuckled a bit when Jensen kept looking around warily. Jared even leaned over and whispered, “Ninja Fangirl,” which got them laughing again as Jensen glared at his lover before they were led into the side office to the main conference room. Samantha Ferris and Jim Beaver greeted them along with Fredric Lehne and the discussion resumed as they waited for the MC to go out and introduce them.

 

Jared moved closer to the door to peek out as he was wont to do when they heard the noise level increase as the audience was admitted. He grinned as he heard a couple of shrieks and laughs before stiffening. He wasn’t the only one as Jeff and Jensen both looked over like they were scenting something, much like animals on their guard. All three of them could sense the presence of a powerful uninitiated Elam out in the audience. A hand on his arm startled Jared out of his focus and he looked over his shoulder and into Eric’s eyes. “Someone shouting?” Eric asked cryptically, but it was a clear message to any of the Elam, which Eric was.

 

Nodding once, Jared relaxed a bit. If they could, the three Finders would search out and approach the person that radiated such strength. By the look in their boss’ eyes, all three knew that even Eric could feel the power of this one. Jared felt his heart leap in hope. This might be it. They might have finally found the Chosen One!

 

But before they could even try to discern what to do without letting the ordinary people among them know, it was show time. The MC greeted the crowd, who cheered ecstatically as he announced the beginning of the panel and began introducing the guests. First out was Kim, then Bob Edlund, followed by Bob Singer and Eric. Then, it was time for the stars, so Samantha was called out first, followed quickly by Jim, and Fredric.

 

Finally, it was their turn. Jared caught the eye of his two lovers as the MC revved the crowd up. _Look for the person, but remember…we’re heard, not seen._ The other two nodded and Jared grinned proudly at his lovers before he was called out. He went onstage and his eyes swept the crowd as he waved and beamed at his fans. He really did love his fans. Their enthusiasm and complete adoration had led to their show being renewed another season. That, and the gifts they sent were absolutely *awesome*!

 

He felt a bit of disappointment that he hadn’t found the source as he sat down next to Fredric, but he knew that Jensen and Jeff would keep an eye out as well. If they were lucky, which they tended to be, the person would stand up to ask a question or they would meet them at the autograph signing later in the day. He grinned at Jensen as he sat down next to him, though Jensen’s eyes showed that he’d been unsuccessful as well. However, Jeff’s eyes were filled with excitement and a picture of a young somewhat overweight woman that was about Jensen’s age at the front and to the right of their position flashed through their minds. She was laughing and looked absolutely ecstatic at being able to see them and it touched their hearts in more ways than one.

 

Finally, as Jeff got settled and miked, the MC started the panel with some questions about the rest of season three and how the odds looked for a season four. Eric answered a lot with some add-ins by Bob Singer and cheers from the crowd, but Jared didn’t pay as much attention as he knew he should as he kept trying to see out into the crowd for the girl. Just as he’d finally got a glimpse of her talking to what looked like one of her friends, the panel was opened up for questions from the audience. The girl’s hand went up along with several others and Jared was half tempted to get Jensen to ‘suggest’ to the MC to call on her, but he got a look from Jeff in warning, so he kept his mouth shut as the first questions were asked.

 

Luck was with them as she was called on later into the questioning and she stood up with a happy smile. Jared couldn’t help the smile that came over him and he noticed that Jeff, Jensen, and Eric were the same as the girl’s warmth and happiness seemed to radiate towards them. She took the mic and giggled at the comment from one of her friends before refocusing. “Hey! I’m from Wisconsin and-” She stopped as a bunch of cheers went up and she giggled again before continuing. “I have a question for Mr. Kripke.”

 

“Shoot! I’m all ears!” Eric answered with a grin and they all laughed lightly as she grinned.

 

“What do you have against Wisconsin!” she asked and giggled as they all laughed and Jared clapped his hands in amusement. “I mean, so many monsters in Wisconsin…are you trying to tell us something?” she added with a waggle of her eyebrows.

 

“Well, yes…there are lots of supernatural things there. Nah, just kidding!” Eric replied as everyone laughed. He cleared his throat as Jeff muttered something about it being strange with the hicks, which she giggled to. “No, actually, I don’t know why exactly. I think it’s because, if you think in spiritual ley lines and environmental set-ups, Wisconsin is rather ideal. Lots of forests and lakes as well as an unusually high energy level. I mean…you guys are so nice! There’s got to be something supernatural about people being so nice at their football games!” he finally said and the crowd erupted with laughter and she snickered.

 

“Oh, and one more question for the actors. What was the best gift from your fans that you got?” she asked and bit her lip, which Jared found himself focusing on almost instantly. It was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen and he glanced over to see a fond grin on Jensen and Jeff’s faces as well.

 

He glanced over as Samantha spoke up, mentioning a candy gram that someone had sent her one year when she’d first come on as Ellen. Jim then remarked about the set of different baseball caps from a fan that he’d gotten just recently and a group of girls cheered in the back, indicating that they were the ones who’d given him such a gift. Fredric was a bit more demure and mentioned that he couldn’t pick any one gift and that he liked them all.

 

Then, it was Jared’s turn. He fingered his lip as his eyes flicked to the girl as he thought over his gifts and suddenly it was so easy. “These awesome meditation balls that I got just at the end of second season from a girl that is a massage therapist. I absolutely love them!” he declared and she laughed and jumped up and down as she pointed at herself. “You sent them!? Oh that’s awesome!!” he cried in excitement. Not only did they have a name now, but an even bigger connection to her!

 

Jensen grinned as Jeff turned towards him and Jared. “You got that? Man, I’m jealous!” he growled and the audience laughed.

 

Leaning forward a bit, Jensen winked at the girl. “I agree with my co-star on his choice. Those massage balls have kept me from killing Jared multiple times,” he stated and grinned as Jared gaped and huffed at him and the crowd laughed.

 

Jeff chuckled as he shook his head, and then held a hand up as if to block them. “My favorite gift was an art set about two years ago. To this day, I still use them,” he offered and the audience ‘aww’ed and applauded as he grinned.

 

Satisfied, the girl sat down, not even seeming to notice the focus of four of the guests as she giggled with her friends and hi-fived them. The panel seemed to fly by and yet crept by at the same time for Jared and he knew that his lovers were just as anxious for things to be done so that they could go to the girl and talk to her. Jared racked his brain as he tried to remember if he still had her business card, but was afraid that he’d lost it or even, unthinkably, tossed it away. He nudged Jensen at one point on it and was dismayed to find the same fear in his lover. Well, he hoped that she would be able to come and get an autograph, for then he’d be sure to get her name and address. And to touch her…he had this almost overwhelming need to touch her.

 

It was odd though. He would never in his life have gone for a girl like her. He could tell vaguely that she was pretty, but she wasn’t slender and drop dead gorgeous like the other girls he’d once dated. He could tell his lovers felt the same way and was perplexed by it. Still, he didn’t question it. For their people, size and beauty didn’t matter when they could control that on their own. But it still surprised him somewhat with how carefree she seemed to be. It was like she truly didn’t know how special she really was.

 

Finally, the panel ended and they were escorted off of the stage as the fans were let out. They were shown back to their rooms since there was going to be another hour before they had to go sign autographs, for which Jared was grateful. Once in their room, Jared let out a whoop of excitement, startling Steve, who was looking out the window.

 

“What is it?! What happened?!” Steve demanded as he whirled around and glared at them as he got only large grins as an answer. “What is it?” he repeated and Jensen laughed before flopping onto one of the couches.

 

“We found her! We found the Chosen One!” Jared declared with a laugh of delight and gave a thumbs-up as Steve’s jaw dropped.

 

“She?! And you…you’re sure!? You found her?!” Steve asked excitedly as he went over, eyes wide with hope.

 

“Definitely a she and almost positively the One,” Jeff confirmed as he sank into his chair and watched Jared pace with barely contained energy.

 

“How?! Who?! Where?! Dude, give me fuckin’ details!” Steve ordered as he sat down and slapped at Jensen’s boot.

 

“Not sure on the ‘who’, but she’s a fan and she was at the panel! She’s from Wisconsin, that’s as far as we know…oh wait. She sent us those really cool massage balls last season,” Jensen answered dutifully before grinning widely. “She’s got the most amazing smile and the cutest giggle and I swear her eyes were so warm and kind…” he added dreamily and Steve laughed as he shook his head.

 

“What, are you mooning over her?” he asked teasingly, and then stopped as he saw the completely star struck looks that were on their faces. “All three of you!? Jesus, what the hell!”

 

“Dude, you would feel the same way…actually, I *know* you will when you see her. I bet she’ll be at the concert,” Jared replied urgently as he finally sat down, though he immediately started tapping his knee.

 

Smirking, Steve slapped Jensen’s boot again. “So, more reason for you to come and perform with me!” he stated and Jensen groaned.

 

“Yea come on, Jen! I mean…you’ve got an awesome voice and the fans adore it!” Jared wheedled and grinned as Jensen glared at him.

 

“Dude, I don’t like doing it in public,” Jensen retorted as he covered his face with his arm.

 

“But if you’re up there, you’ll prolly be able to get a good view of her and maybe even have a reason to talk to her,” Jeff pointed out before Jared could and grinned as Jared smirked.

 

With a heavy sigh, Jensen pouted before nodding. “Fine, fine…I’ll do it. But you guys owe me!” he said as he glared at them.

 

“Maybe you haven’t changed so much,” Steve retorted with a snicker as he stood up and went to go play on his guitar as a knock resounded on the door. It was time for some autographs.

 

TBC

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 

Jared sighed softly as he leaned his head back while waiting for the crew to finish getting the set ready for their next group of takes. He couldn’t seem to shrug off the depression that had taken hold of him since they’d returned to Vancouver after the convention in Chicago. After finally having found the one that they were certain was the Chosen One, they had been unable to get to her.

 

She had ended up sick and had left not long after the panel. They’d found out from one of her friends, who had been given the quest to get their autographs for her, which they had given very willingly, but with great disappointment. It had broken their hearts on top of that to hear that she had been sobbing from her regret at not being able to get their autographs in person as well as having to miss Jensen and Steve’s performance. Luckily her room mate had been along with her and had driven her home and her friends had taken plenty of pictures and vids to make up for it.

 

But they’d never found out her name or even where she was. On top of that, they had discovered upon returning and searching their apartments and trailers that they had even thrown out the box she’d sent the gifts in, thus making it impossible for them to find out who she was through that. It had depressed all three Finders that they had been so close to finally getting the Chosen One and their own destinies straightened out only to have it ripped away by a simple stomach virus.

 

They had reported to Sati and the rest of the Elam what they had found and the mixture of joy and disappointment had only made Jared feel worse. He felt responsible for the entire thing. If only he had asked for her name when she had been asking them the questions!

 

He was knocked out of his thoughts by a light smack to the head and sat up while looking over his shoulder in surprise. Jensen sat down next to him and sighed. “Quit thinking about her, Jared. You’re depressing us all,” he growled and Jared ducked his head in embarrassment.

 

“Sorry, man. We were just…so close,” Jared mumbled and sighed as another wave of guilt and depression washed over him. He grunted as he was hit upside the head again and glanced at Jensen, who was casually looking over his email.

 

“Yea, well you’re radiating so much that the humans are picking up on it. Knock it off,” Jensen growled lowly, though he didn’t look up from his checking. He cocked an eyebrow then. “Huh…got an email from Sati. There’s going to be a gathering tomorrow evening in Wisconsin. Someplace called Waoo-saoo or something,” he remarked and looked over at Jared in interest as Jared turned towards him.

 

“She mention why?” Jared asked tensely as his very being seemed to be filled with expectation and anticipation. Something about this information screamed about their almost success in Chicago. He had a painful memory of the girl saying she was from Wisconsin.

 

Jensen smacked him again as he felt his lover’s thoughts roil with turmoil. “Dude, cool it, all right?! You’re giving me a fucking headache!” he snapped and had the pleasure of seeing guilt and apology in Jared’s eyes before he looked down at his email. “And no, it doesn’t say anything more, but she told me to tell you and she was going to contact Jeff as well,” he explained before chewing on his lip thoughtfully.

 

“We were the three who saw her. It has to be her, Jen! Gaia, we’ve almost got her!” Jared exclaimed in a rush and grunted as Jensen smacked his hand over Jared’s mouth to muffle him before looking around to make sure no one was around.

 

“Dude, chill it, would you?! Or do I have to get a hold of Shawn Ashmore to put your ass on ice?” Jensen hissed out and Jared snorted with laughter. “And you’re the one reminding me all the time to keep it under your hat!” he added before letting Jared go.

 

Snickering, Jared rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I remember when Shawn accidentally used his power for real. Luckily Hugh covered for him in the filming,” he murmured and Jensen grinned at him as they both sat back.

 

“Can’t believe Hugh Jackman can mold metal to his body and then shape his body into anything…” Jensen muttered and Jared laughed.

 

“Yea, you should see him at parties,” Mike Rosenbaum commented as he sauntered nonchalantly over to where they were sitting.

 

“Hey Mikey! Off today?” Jared asked with a grin as he bumped knuckles with their friend. He leaned back in his chair and stretched while thinking over if they could get flights for the next night. They’d have to leave probably that night…

 

His thoughts were interrupted as Mike this time smacked him upside the head. “Hey!”

 

“You’re making my head hurt!” Mike growled and glared at the taller man before sprawling in the spare chair next to Jensen. “So, get the email?” he asked with a smirk as he crossed his ankles and arms.

 

“Yea, why? You get one?” Jensen asked as he deleted his email and started booking flights for him and Jared that night. They were almost done with filming for the week as it was and they both knew that Eric would cover their asses if it didn’t work out.

 

“Nah, but I heard from Sophie Treber. She had contacted Sati with a warning about some kind of virus that might be targeted towards high level Elam powers and I’d heard about it and talked to Sophie as well. Said that it took on the signs of a stomach virus and, if not treated, could cause an Elam to die from dehydration…or just from throwing their guts up,” Mike explained soberly as he picked at his nails.

 

“And how did Sophie find out about this?” Jared asked softly as fear ripped through him. He could see his fear mirrored in Jensen’s eyes and knew they were on the right track. The girl had gone home with a stomach virus…was she all right?

 

“Her eldest daughter had come home from a convention with this virus. Sophie had been able to heal her, but it had been a close thing. She’d had to call on Mama Rose from New Orleans to help her with it when the virus passed to her a bit after she used her powers to start the healing process. Her daughter isn’t thinking anything of it though, I guess. She has no clue that she almost died because of her power,” Mike replied and frowned. “In fact, it almost sounds like her daughter has no clue she even *has* the gift,” he added and snorted.

 

“How do you know this Sophie person?” Jensen asked in an effort to quell his rising protective fear. He even went so far as to put a soothing hand on Jared’s knee as his lover looked about ready to bolt to get to Wisconsin. They couldn’t rush off without explanation. They were always being watched.

 

“I met Sophie and her husband Gerrad about seven years ago when I was in Dallas one time. The year after you were inducted, Jared if I recall correctly. She was there, supposedly, for a Mary Kay convention, but in truth, it was for one of the gatherings. Her eldest son and second eldest daughter were getting inducted so that they could control their powers that had been manifesting for the year before that, especially since her son was going into the Navy and her daughter was going to be dealing with wild animals while studying in college. I hear that her youngest got inducted recently too,” Mike responded with a grin and memories in his eyes.

 

“Yea, Andrew. He got inducted after he left his wife, which is a good thing because she was a plant from the Faithful and had gone psycho on him. His induction saved his sanity,” Jared replied absently as he thought over this news. “Ok, so let me get this straight: Their eldest daughter hasn’t been inducted? Why not?”

 

“Cuz she’s never shown any signs,” Mike answered like he was speaking to a slow person. “Dude, you know we can’t induct anyone if they aren’t showing signs! They go mental!” he hissed out as he leaned in closer.

 

“Yea, but she’s showing signs now…right?” Jensen murmured as a PA walked past on an errand. They’d felt her power at the convention. There was no *way* that someone that strong wasn’t showing!

 

Mike waited a bit before answering. “No, she’s not. Sophie can’t explain it. But there’s something else that’s been added to this.” He stayed quiet for a bit until he was sure he had their attention. “I heard from the head of Creation Entertainment. He told me that they had found an operative in their group. This guy is the one that created the virus. Adam thinks they got rid of all of the virus samples as well as any data for it, but if the Faithful manage to reproduce it and it specifically targets high Elam powers, we’re doomed if we have to use our powers for defense. That’s why Sophie had to have Mama Rose come. They split their power so the virus wouldn’t travel to them after Sophie had been healed herself.”

 

“I bet that’s why Jeff is being asked to come as well. He’ll want to learn the healing techniques from Sophie,” Jared muttered and sighed as he rubbed a hand wearily over his face. “They’re getting more devious and powerful.”

 

“We have to get to the Chosen One before they do or all is lost,” Jensen agreed softly before cracking his knuckles. “She has to awaken before they kill her.”

 

“Her?! You mean you’ve found her?” Mike asked in surprise as he stared at them and they gaped back at him.

 

“Dude, you keep up with the other gossip and yet you’re out of the important grapevines!? What kind of gossip monger are you!?” Jared asked with a laugh and Jensen laughed as Mike flushed and muttered something under his breath. But before they could discuss it further, one of the other PAs came over to inform them that they were needed on set. With hurried farewells to Mike, they headed back to the set, once more optimistic that they hadn’t failed. Everything did indeed seem to be happening in Wisconsin.

 

Mike watched them leave with a small fond smile on his lips. It was a good to see their focus again. It really had been getting depressing having their guilt and self bashing going along the Elam mental roads recently. With a shrug, he pulled out his phone and dialed. “Hey Kristen! Message received and we are back on schedule! The moody duo is on track again!” he declared as he walked away.

 

TBC

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

 

(Just a note that this chapter focuses on the main OFC, introducing her and bringing her into the fold. No worries! J3 will be returning shortly.)

 

The rumble of her car engine dying to silence focused Analise on her current surroundings. Ever since she’d gotten better from whatever flu she’d caught in Chicago, she’d been prone to having her mind wander, unable to focus on anything. Her family, naturally, had been very worried for her, but she’d proven her stuff and had recovered. Luckily, her mother had taken care of her and Analise will forever claim that it was motherly love that had helped her through. Though she had vague recollections of there being a black woman there, but she blamed it on the fever. The rest of her family had stayed away and her parents had even canceled their plans to go to Washington so she could take care of Analise, so there was no way it had been anyone but her mom. At least, she kept telling herself that so she wouldn’t go crazy with the need to know what had happened.

 

She got out of her old Sunbird and slammed the door shut as she breathed in the pure air that always blew around her parents’ home in the warm Indian summer that had hit all of a sudden just after Thanksgiving. She could remember just standing outside when she was little and letting the wind wash over her body, filling her with energy and joy. Even when she’d been little, her affinity for nature had been high and had grown deeper as she’d grown older. It had enhanced her natural empathy for people somehow as well, making her more sensitive to people’s auras and how they were connected to nature. Or so she told herself. Sometimes she wondered if she was just deluding herself into thinking that she was special.

 

Shrugging out of her gloomy thoughts, she turned to go inside her parents’ place, but stopped as she saw a car coming out of their shed. Curious and a bit peeved, for it wasn’t unusual for stupid people to go down their driveway thinking it was a shortcut and having no respect for private property, she went over slowly to investigate. She stopped at the edge of her parents’ yard under the large oak that had been a playground and safe haven for her and her siblings years ago and watched as the car came to a stop and a familiar face emerged, watching her intently. She smiled in surprise and waved. “Brendan Kant? Is that you?” she called out as he sauntered over to her with a mysterious smile on his face.

 

“Analise, been a long time. How’s it going?” he asked with a grin and hugged her in greeting. She returned the hug with a laugh and stepped back as he looked her up and down. “You look good, hun!” he declared and she rolled her eyes.

 

“Still the charmer. How’s your girlfriend? Or is it fiancée or, dare I say it, wife?” she retorted with a giggle and he grinned at her.

 

“Amy’s doing great. We’re expecting our first kid this Christmas,” he answered before reaching out to cup Analise’s face, which surprised her. “You really are looking good there, Analise,” he said quietly and she blushed and looked away, obviously biting down a sarcastic retort.

 

“Thanks…course, you haven’t seen me in a while,” she finally murmured before looking up at him. “So what brings you here? Getting some last minute veggies from the garden, though how you knew we had them-”

 

“No, I was visiting your mom for something. Listen, I need to get going. But, let’s get together tonight,” Brendan interrupted her and grinned as she blinked at him in surprise. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down an address before handing it to her. “Come here tonight at seven. It’s just a bunch of friends that I think you’d really like,” he explained and she smiled uncertainly as she took the paper.

 

“Um, ok…this is kinda sudden. But hey, I have no life, so why not!” she commented nervously and laughed a bit to cover it. He hugged her tightly and kissed her head before pulling back and she blinked up at him. “So I guess I’ll see you tonight?”

 

“See you there. And don’t worry! It’ll be fun!” Brendan reassured her as he went to his car. He smiled at her once again before getting into his car and driving off.

 

Analise watched him leave in confusion. When had he become so mysterious? The young man she remembered had been a flirt, yet as warm and cuddly as could be. They had been ok friends, nothing special since he was younger than her, but the way he had just acted it was like they were old dear friends. Shaking her head, she went inside to visit with her mother and father before going to grab some veggies and heading home.

 

A couple of hours later, she was home and cleaning up for that night, confused even more. Her mom had been happy when she had mentioned the get together for that night, but that was kind of nothing new. What had surprised her was how her mom had lit up with hope that went beyond motherly love. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it was almost a feeling of relief and nervousness that had been underlying that hope. Did she know something?

 

Shaking it off as just her mom being *mom*, Analise got dressed in a pair of black capris and her blue t-shirt that had butterflies on it. She printed up directions to the place that she was going to and was surprised to find that it was in Wausau near the University. She then put on her favorite pair of flat sandals and called to her room mate that she was heading out. She’d pick something up on the way to eat and fill up on gas since it was about a forty-five minute drive. On her way out, she hummed along with the songs that played and tried not to think about what she was going into. She never would have done something so impulsively and usually avoided it because of it being a strange situation.

 

But the invite had felt compulsory and she hadn’t felt the need to avoid it even though something in her was still wary. She had even turned down babysitting that night for her sister and the weird thing had been that her sister hadn’t bitched. Not when she’d been told that Analise was going out as well that night. It was as if everything was working towards her being there and it kind of scared and excited her.

 

She turned off of I-39 onto Stewart Avenue and went towards the University. She turned right and slowed down as she saw numerous cars already parked in the parking lot. Impressed, but then telling herself that it was probably for summer classes, she parked towards the far end and got out after locking up. She followed the directions through a courtyard that was depressed in the center around several trees and a fountain until she arrived at the base of a building that had archways all along its traveling walls.

 

She went inside and smiled a bit as she took in the warm atmosphere from the lights and people that were already there. There was a large glass and metal sculpture hanging from the vaulted ceiling and it slowly turned as if from a breeze above the mingling people. She stepped in farther and looked around cautiously, avoiding the small groups of people that were turning to look and smile at her in welcome. She smiled back warily and wondered if there really was anyone she knew there.

 

Looking over and up, she noticed that a lot of the people were going into the auditorium, but she didn’t want to presume. What if there was a performance and they asked for tickets? She’d end up unable to go in because she wasn’t paid for and definitely didn’t have any money. She was just starting to panic a bit when she heard a very familiar voice call her name. She looked over just in time to see her brother’s face before he wrapped his long arms around her and hugged her tight. She was surprised, but hugged him back, smiling as he squeezed her. She looked up at him when he loosened his hold and smiled even more at him in relief. “What are you doing here?” she asked and he laughed.

 

“Me?! What are *you* doing here?” Andrew answered with a squeeze of her shoulders before rubbing her arms.

 

“Hey, I asked first! Older sis’ prerogative!” Analise retorted playfully as she grinned and slapped him lightly on the chest and he laughed again.

 

“Yea, yea whatever. I was in the state and knew about this get together and so here I am!” Andrew replied and grinned as she cocked an eyebrow.

 

“Andrew, you live in Connecticut! Why are you here?” Analise asked as she smirked at him.

 

“Well, I’m planning on moving back home. With the divorce being settled, it’s just easier and I’ve been wanting to come home for a long time,” Andrew responded with a quiet grin. He squeezed her hand and she hugged him. “So tell me why you’re here!” he demanded and she snorted.

 

“You’ll never believe it, but I ran into Brendan Kant this afternoon and he told me to come here for a get together. Though...I think maybe I shouldn’t be here...” Analise explained as she looked around and noted that most of the people were watching her and talking quietly while trying to look welcoming to her. But she felt more weirded out than welcome.

 

“No, I think you do belong here, Analise. Come on...we’re going to start heading inside,” Andrew stated and grinned as he pulled her along to the winding staircase the led to the auditorium. She looked around warily and noted that people were now moving inside and shivered. What was going on?!

 

“Andrew! Hey man, long time no see!”

 

Analise looked up in shock at the voice that should *not* have been in little old Wisconsin and saw indeed that Jared Padalecki was striding down the stairs, beaming at them as he waved.

 

“Jared man! Good to see you! How’s filming?” Andrew called back and shook hands with Jared when they reached him. Analise tuned out in shock as she watched her brother and *the* Jared Padalecki talk like they were old friends. How they were friends, she had no clue because she was *quite* certain that her brother had never rubbed elbows with any of Hollywood’s finest. She blinked back into the present as she felt Andrew tug her hand. “Hey sis, this is Jared Padalecki. I know you’ve wanted to meet him.” He looked back up at Jared and grinned. “Jared, this is my oldest sister, Analise. Analise, this is your fantasy man, Jared!” he stated and Analise smacked him hard on the shoulder as she blushed red in embarrassment.

 

“I’m gonna kill you later, baby bro. Fair warning,” she growled at him and he grinned as Jared laughed and held his hand out.

 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’d been looking forward to it since Chicago,” Jared greeted her warmly as she shook his hand.

 

“You...remember me?” she whispered in shock as she stared up at him and suddenly felt a bit dizzy as warmth and so many strange feelings washed over her as he gripped her hand. She wavered and felt herself caught by strong arms and looked up into Jared’s concern-filled face. “U-um...”

 

“Hey, you ok?” Jared asked softly as he steadied her while Andrew looked on in concern.

 

“Um, I was...was really sick a couple of weeks ago. Still get weak if a bit....um...overwhelmed...” she answered quietly and swallowed hard as the feelings seemed to intensify. What was going on??

 

“Maybe we should sit down,” Andrew suggested quietly, but they looked over as people headed into the auditorium.

 

Analise reached over and braced herself on the stone railing and instantly felt a bit steadier. She stood up on her own and breathed in deeply, then smiled reassuringly at them. “Let’s head in, I guess. Just...no more surprises, k lil bro? I’m still not better yet,” she told them and Andrew wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

 

“Sorry sis...didn’t mean it,” he murmured apologetically.

 

“S’ok...you coming Mr. Padalecki?” Analise asked as they started in.

 

“Aw shit, that’s my dad! Call me Jared,” Jared responded as he walked alongside them.

 

She grinned at him. “We don’t know each other all that well, Mr. Padalecki. Mom raised us to be polite until we know people,” she retorted and he laughed lightly. He waved suddenly and she looked and almost fainted again as she saw Jensen Ackles *and* Jeff Morgan. “Oh god, I’m dying...I know it,” she whispered in shock and Andrew looked down at her in bemusement, seemingly not at all put off that there were TV stars at this gathering or whatever it was.

 

They went down to the second row and sat down as the people milling around them also began to find seats. Suddenly, a young Indian woman came onto the stage at the bottom of the seats and stood between three candles on a small platform. She smiled and bowed to them all and received a bow from the gathered in return. Analise stared at her brother as he did the same as if it was something he did all the time and wondered about the look of utter peace and happiness that was on his face. She looked forward again as the woman spoke.

 

“Greetings my family and welcome to all who join us here this night. You are all here by invitation or by calling and are welcome with open arms. I would like to ask our newcomers to please step forward and surround the platform, for it is a tradition with our group that we greet the newcomers into the warmth of the Mother Earth and our family,” the woman greeted them and spread her arms in invitation, beckoning the guests to come forward.

 

Analise looked at her brother warily. “Are you in some kind of cult?” she hissed out and looked around as several people began to move towards the platform.

 

Grinning, Andrew shook his head. “Just go down, Analise. I promise that it won’t hurt,” he whispered back and Jared smiled and nodded encouragingly.

 

“Dude, if mom and dad find out you made me join some kind of hippie cult, they’re gonna flip!” Analise retorted softly, which earned a laugh from them both as she hesitantly made her way down. She stood in front of the platform, facing the Indian woman as the others made a crude circle around the platform. She glanced around as she felt the presence of others enclosing them and saw the obviously-already-members encircle them and raise their hands in a strange position with their right hands over the newcomers and their left hands pointed towards the sky. She looked ahead again and bit her lip as she saw the woman copying the other members. She had a really bad feeling about all this...

 

“Mother Earth calls to us and we shall answer her.” The words were spoken calmly and Analise felt herself relax. Well maybe it wasn’t *so* bad...

 

“She is always our guide…always our light,” the members answered her and their heads tilted forward.

 

“Her children shall gather until the Chosen One leads us to peace,” the woman intoned joyfully and a soft glow began to surround the newcomers. Analise flinched as she felt like a live wire was hitting her body and color and light seemed to block out everything else around her.

 

“Blessed be that time. May peace come and life shine through.” The words barely made it through the white haze that was surrounding Analise and she wanted to cry out in fear. Suddenly, her head tilted back as she closed her eyes while a brilliant flash of light enveloped her and information seemed to flood over her senses. It was as if she was learning everything that could be learned, but it hurt so much that she couldn’t even scream. Just as it reached the threshold of her nearly passing out, it gentled and became warm and comforting. She relaxed and it felt like strong arms were enfolding her, soothing her as the information slowed down and a voice whispered to her about who she *really* was. She could all of a sudden hear the thoughts of millions of people, but it was quieted before it became overwhelming, muffled to the point that it was like faint background noise.

 

She opened her eyes and swayed slightly on her feet as she brought her head up and noticed vaguely that the light and colors were fading and she was returning to reality. She felt strong hands on her own, grounding her and she focused on the Indian woman as she came back into herself. She took a deep breath and blinked as her hands were squeezed reassuringly. “Welcome to the Elam, Chosen One,” the Indian woman, who Analise knew somehow that her name was Sati, said in greeting and Analise stared at her.

 

“Chosen One for what?” she asked dumbly and the crowd around her chuckled softly at her question. She looked around and started as a large hand squeezed her shoulder and she looked up into her brother’s face. “Dude, what the hell are you guys doing with that light show? It was damn freaky!” she demanded hoarsely and swayed just a bit, still somewhat high from whatever had just happened. She felt so strange, like she didn’t fit her skin. She felt everyone’s eyes on her and it scared her. What were these weirdoes!?

 

“It’s ok, Analise. All will be explained,” Sati replied gently and then drew her along the stage to the right wing, where they went through a door. Analise looked over her shoulder and saw Jared, Jensen, and Jeff standing next to her brother smiling reassuringly, but she didn’t feel one bit reassured. In fact, she felt terrified.

 

“What’s going on?” she finally whimpered as they walked down what seemed to be a medieval tunnel with iron sconces that held light bulbs and doors that appeared to lead into other rooms and halls. “Where are we going?”

 

“Everything is all right now, Analise. You’re safe with us. We’re going to Eden...a place that is a safe haven for others like us,” Sati replied comfortingly as she squeezed the other woman’s hand.

 

“Eden? Where is that? And what *are* we?” Analise demanded weakly and stopped, pulling Sati to a halt as well. “Are you guys some kind of cult or something? Do you drug people with whatever was in that light show?” she questioned as she held her head, which was steadily pounding. Something didn’t feel right...

 

Sati opened her mouth to answer, but stopped as Jared suddenly raced down the hall towards them, followed swiftly by two young teenagers. He was dressed in a long maroon and gold trimmed robe and held what looked like a naginata, a long staff with a curve blade at the end. “Sati! The Faithful have found us! We have to get to safety!” he snapped out as he came to them.

 

Nodding once, Sati looked at Analise. “You must be protected at all costs. The fate of humanity and earth is held by you,” she declared softly and Analise’s eyes widened. Turning to the teenagers, Sati pointed at them. “Josh, Gretchen...protect her and get her to safety. Jared, with me,” she ordered swiftly and then ran with Jared back towards the auditorium.

 

Josh grabbed Analise’s hand and tugged. “Come on! We don’t have much time!” he stated as he started down the hall.

 

“Huh!? No, wait! My brother! The others! What’s going on!?” Analise cried as she was pulled along the hall at a rapid pace. They turned and went into a small room and she faced them as they stood in front of the door. “Talk to me, please! What’s going on!? Who’re these Faithful people?!” she begged as she trembled. She didn’t feel very good all of a sudden.

 

“The Faithful are our greatest enemy. They are a cult that was created back in the time of Babylon that uses selective breeding to make themselves stronger, more powerful in mind abilities, and able to withstand great amounts of pain. They have been hunting us since our creation centuries ago, though our group has been around long before theirs ever was. They fear us...you especially,” Gretchen explained gently as Josh kept an eye on the door. They both stood tensely with their naginatas gripped tightly in their hands, obviously ready to fight at any moment.

 

“Why me?! What is the big deal about me?! What’s all this Chosen One crap?!” Analise inquired desperately and struggled to keep her voice down.

 

“You will be the bridge between Earth and humans. You will bring about peace and the new way for all humankind,” Gretchen answered simply and Analise reeled. But before she could answer, Josh hissed a warning just as the door was kicked open and several black robed figures ran in towards them. Gretchen and Josh coldly fought back, taking them down as quickly as they could while backing Analise into a corner.

 

“Stop this! Stop fighting please!” Analise yelled, but was drowned out by the snarls and clanging of fighting as the children fought against the ones who were intent on killing them. She shrieked as she was grabbed from behind and suddenly pushed back, sending the figure flying into the wall with a sickening thud. Her head spun and she nearly fell forward, but unexpectedly strong arms that she knew grabbed her and held her close.

 

“I’ve got you...hold on,” Jared whispered to her even as he swung his naginata and impaled another of the black robed attackers. “Josh, Gretchen! Fall back!” he shouted as he led Analise out of the room.

 

My...brother...where’s Andrew...” Analise whispered as she held onto his arm and tried to keep the hall from spinning out of her control.

 

“He’s safe. Don’t worry about him or the others. We can survive,” Jared replied gruffly and nodded at Jensen as the other man fought off the last of a group that had obviously followed them. Jared raised a hand and his eyes narrowed before the group that had been coming down the hall went flying with cries of shock and pain. “Jen, grab Analise! We gotta get out of here and to Eden!” he snapped before pushing her towards Jensen.

 

“Come on, Analise! We have to run!” Jensen urged her with a smile as he grabbed her hand before turning and racing off with Analise in tow.

 

“God, why do I have to get to finally meet you guys when there’s a freaking brawl going on over some hippie cult!?” Analise whined as she ran, but she didn’t, amazingly, feel winded. She was able to keep up with Jensen, which should have been impossible since she was only 5’5” and Jensen was 6’1”. They got outside and Analise gulped in air and felt the dizziness that had been overpowering her fade back as they raced across the courtyard to the depressed area that surrounded a fountain and a grove of trees. She looked up and noted that it was nighttime. How long had they been in there?!

 

She was about to ask when they arrived on the other side of the trees. Bending down, Jensen yanked up the sewer hole cover like it was Styrofoam and jumped in. Analise’s eyes widened and she backed up right into Jared. “Oh hell no! I am not going down there!” she declared hotly before looking up at him pleadingly.

 

Jared smirked at her and sighed. “No choice, babe...in you go!” he replied and she squeaked as he picked her up like she weighed nothing at all, which again should have been impossible because she was at least 250 pounds! He moved quickly to the hole. “Coming down!” he called in and pushed Analise down.

 

“I’m going to murder you! I don’t care how cute you are!” Analise shouted as she fell down into the sewers, but she was caught and steadied. “Oh be still my heart,” she whispered and Jensen laughed lowly near her ear.

 

“Ok? That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” he murmured and she felt her face go flushed.

 

“Says you...” was all she could flip back as Jared climbed down after securing the hole cover. “Now what?”

 

“Now we head for the rendezvous point and then to the tunnel that will take us to Eden,” Jared answered while pointing out the direction and smiled at her. “Don’t worry...everything will be fine now,” he added gently.

 

She looked up at him and tears filled her eyes. “I wish I could believe you, but you’ve lied to me already. Some of your people are dead,” she responded hoarsely and looked away before trudging along the sewer in the direction Jared had pointed.

 

Jared and Jensen stared after her in dismay. This had *definitely* not gone as planned...

 

TBC

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

 

The silence was stifling as the three walked along the slimy pathway in the sewers heading towards who knew where as far as Analise was concerned. Her mind was racing with everything she somehow just *knew* and with everything she’d seen. Her worry for her brother was the biggest along with her worries about all of the other people that had been there and she felt nearly drowned with the knowledge that people had *died*. She also wasn’t so sure anymore on the trustworthiness of her two favorite actors since they were having the tendency of doing things that normal people shouldn’t be able to do and why wasn’t anyone really explaining that to her? She placed her hand on her forehead as another bout of dizziness swept over her, but she swallowed it down and kept going. She wasn’t going to get sick now…no fucking way.

 

They came upon an alcove and Jared placed his hand on her shoulder. “This is the meeting spot. Let’s sit down,” he suggested softly and she snorted.

 

“On what? Slime? Great…” she replied sarcastically before sighing and sliding down the wall to sit on the nearest non-slime covered spot that she could find. She took several deep breaths, trying to quell the dizziness and nausea that was making her world spin unsteadily.

 

“Are you ok?” Jensen asked gently as they sat on either side of her. He placed a cool hand on her forehead and winced. “You’re cold…you feeling sick?”

 

“You try and recover from a death bed sickness in a couple of weeks and tell me that you’re up to snuff, ok?” Analise snapped back before sighing. She reached up a shaking hand and gripped his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m scared,” she whispered shakily and looked up at him sadly.

 

“We’ll watch over you, Analise. You have our word,” Jensen stated quietly and he squeezed her hand.

 

“Why? What’s so special about me? I’m just some fat, almost thirty, ugly girl that happened to come to your party or whatever and now you’re all claiming I’m some special Chosen One,” Analise murmured tearfully and let go of his hand to cover her face as she sobbed slightly. “I’m nothing! I’m not special or important or worth dying over!”

 

“Sorry, but we have to disagree. We know what we saw…felt. You *are* the one who will be the bridge between Mother Earth and humankind. We just don’t know how,” Jared retorted gruffly, his heart breaking a bit at seeing her so upset and so down on herself. “Why do you think you’re all those things?” he asked as he carefully wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close as she sniffled and shivered. He nodded at Jensen, who shrugged out of his robe and wrapped it around her, trying to warm her up.

 

“It’s what I’ve known all my life. I never had friends. I just had my family. They’re all I’ve got. I always kind of knew that I’d be alone, but it took me a long time to accept it and now all of a sudden, I’m being declared something that’s impossible,” Analise whispered as she snuggled close to Jared and didn’t even mind when Jensen curled close to her as well. Her eyes filled up with tears again and she shook her head. “My brother…I was responsible for him and he might…he m-might be…”

 

“He’s not. He’s alive. We both know it, so don’t worry there. He’ll be meeting up with us along with a few of the others. There are a lot of escape routes from that meeting place, so almost everyone escaped,” Jared answered as he leaned his chin on her head. She felt so cold and she was shaking so hard that her teeth were chattering. He looked at Jensen in concern and was met with the same worry.

 

“Sati didn’t.” The statement startled them and they looked down into her sorrowful eyes. She looked up at Jared as if for a denial, but she knew she was right.

 

“Sati…Sati knew that she would die not long after your discovery. She had accepted it long ago and was happy for it. She died protecting you and our future,” Jared replied and his voice choked a bit. Analise looked down and curled up and Jared felt miserable for having hurt her even more. She had been so sunny and happy when they’d first seen her. But ever since she had met them, her life had become filled with sorrow.

 

They all looked over as they heard a soft scraping noise and Jensen jumped to his feet with his naginata out. “Gaia shall shine through the sky,” he called out softly as he watched the dark passage they had just come from.

 

“And we shall shine with her into the new age,” came the gruff reply before Jeff appeared out of the shadows with a grin. His face was smudged from ash and he was limping just a bit, but he was whole and that filled both Jensen and Jared with joy.

 

Jared got up immediately and went to him, cupping his face tenderly before they hugged tightly. “Gaia, you fucking scared the shit out of me,” he whispered huskily.

 

“Sorry…that beam came out of no where. Lucky for me Andrew here was able to get it out of the way so we could escape with a few others,” Jeff replied hoarsely before nodding back to where a small group was coming out of the shadows into the alcove.

 

“Andrew!” Analise’s voice echoed in the tiny space as she pushed herself up and fell into her brother’s arms, sobbing softly as she hugged him tightly. He was just as dirty as Jeff, but he had tears streaking his face as he held her just as closely.

 

“Thank Gaia you’re safe, sis. I was so scared…” Andrew whispered as he held onto her and buried his face in her hair. He rubbed her shaking back and looked down at her in concern before glancing at Jared and Jensen. “What’s wrong with her? Why is she shaking and so cold?” he demanded as he grabbed Jensen’s robe and wrapped it around his sister again before sitting her down on the ground.

 

“We’re not sure. We’re thinking it might be a slight relapse. Jeff, could you check her?” Jared asked as he stepped back.

 

“Sure. Hey sweetie, give me your hand,” Jeff whispered soothingly as he sat down next to the siblings and took her shaking hand. He placed his other hand on her chest and closed his eyes before a soft yellow glow surrounded his hands. Her trembling slowed a bit, but suddenly her other hand whipped out and pushed his hands away as her breathing became rougher.

 

“Stop…you’ll die,” she stated harshly as she gasped for air. He blinked at her in surprise and saw that she wasn’t as pale anymore, but her trembling had increased unexpectedly. She groaned and reached out, searching, then abruptly touched Jeff on the cheek. They all gasped as a flare of light lit the area briefly, blinding them before disappearing and she slumped back. Jeff touched his cheek and was shocked to find that he was clean, the soot and blood gone from his body.

 

“How’d she do that?” Jensen hissed out in wonder as they stared at her.

 

“We’ll figure it out later. Let’s just get going so we can get out of this hellhole,” Jared ordered sharply before having one of the teenagers take point. “Kris, keep those senses up. We should be close, but it changes.”

 

“Ya got it, boss!” Kris replied before jogging ahead just a bit with one of the other boys.

 

Andrew helped his sister up and steadied her as she wobbled. “Can you do it, Analise?” he asked, his voice filled with concern as she started shaking again almost as soon as she was upright.

 

“I’ll be damned if I get stuck down here,” she growled out and the others laughed softly at her show of defiance. She leaned her hand against the wall and grimaced. “This is so gross,” she added and Andrew chuckled as he squeezed her waist.

 

“Yea I know, but it’s safe and we aren’t detectable down here,” he explained and she looked up at him.

 

“Our whole family is part of this, aren’t they? Everyone except me…” she whispered and he smiled and shrugged.

 

“And the kids. Usually, the Elam don’t show their powers until after puberty or, more than likely, after they hit the age 21,” Andrew replied and he rubbed her arm as it clung to his waist. He stopped as she stopped suddenly and swayed dangerously. “Analise?”

 

Analise groaned softly as her knees buckled and she fell forward, but was caught by several arms. “I can’t. Can’t go on…just leave me...” she whispered as she leaned into her brother heavily, barely conscious.

 

“Not in this lifetime, sis...” Andrew shot back as he looked up at the others desperately.

 

“So cold...can’t breathe, baby bro...it’s too dirty here...” Analise whispered as her head shook from side to side a bit like she was feverish, except that she was like ice.

 

“I think I know what’s wrong. We’re currently surrounded by sewage. If she really is the bridge, she needs to be in contact with something from Mother Earth,” Jeff stated as he checked her pulse and found it weakening.

 

“Then we need to move it. We’re double timing it people!” Jared barked out before kneeling and grabbing Analise from Andrew, who opened his mouth to protest. “Not now. I know she’s your sister, but we need to move fast and I can handle her better than you can,” Jared growled but his eyes were soft with apology. Andrew closed his mouth and nodded before standing with the other man, who hefted Analise close. “Analise, wrap your arms around my neck. Hold on to me,” Jared whispered tenderly to the nearly unconscious woman.

 

“You’ll...hurt yourself...Mr. Padalecki...m’heavy,” Analise mumbled, but she snuggled closer as she did as she was told.

 

“Never with you, Analise. Never with you,” he whispered in reply before he looked over the rest of the group and nodded. “Let’s move it!” he snapped and took off down the sewer ways at a pace that no ordinary person could follow if they tried. They went through various tunnels and caught up with Kris and the other boy, who began directing them through assorted channels until they arrived at what looked to be the central sewage treatment plant.

 

Jared nodded at the boys and smiled. “Good work,” he said before turning to the group as they all arrived. “All right, listen up. As most of you remember, we can only go two at a time and we have to wait fifteen minutes between each shot. Do *not* let go of each other and walk straight down the path. Do *not* veer off the path or you will be lost for all time. And no, this isn’t a joke,” he explained firmly as he caught all of their gazes with his own. He knew that a few of them had never walked The Paths, so he had to make sure it was clear. “We will arrive in the Smokey Mountains about half a mile outside of Eden. It’s winter time now and there’s probably snow already, so just be ready for that, all right?” he added and smiled as they all nodded. He nodded once, and then turned back to the pool that was the center for all of the water that went through the purifying plant.

 

He went to the edge of it and toed three symbols that were set on the rim of the pool. A gleam of light rippled off of the pool before it settled into an almost gelatinous state. He stepped onto it and a tunnel of light flared around him. “Open the Path to Eden!” he shouted over the wind that started whipping around them and was slowly lowered down until he could no longer see the others. He turned to his left and began walking briskly down the Path that opened to him. He looked down once and saw that Analise had passed out, her skin was gray, and she was barely breathing. “Hang on, Analise...don’t you leave me,” he whispered fiercely before hugging her closer to him and focusing forward again.

 

He quickened his pace as he saw a dim light ahead that signaled the end of the tunnel and came out in the middle of a hill that was covered in dead grass just outside of a rather skeleton like forest that had lost all of its leaves in preparation for winter. He looked over at the horizon and saw that dawn was nearing, so he knelt and laid Analise on the frost covered ground. He cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb along the soft skin. “Come on, Analise. Wake up for me…” he whispered then looked up as a breeze suddenly washed over them gently and the sun came up over the horizon. It landed on them gently, warming Jared’s face as he watched.

 

Looking down at her when he heard a deep inhale, Jared smiled as Analise stirred and rolled her head as if waking up from a long sleep. She opened her eyes as she breathed in deeply and looked up at him before smiling slightly. Smiling brilliantly back at her, Jared took her hand into his, burying her hand within his hold. “Welcome back.”

 

“Good morning, Mr. Padalecki…” she whispered back and he laughed softly before helping her to sit up. Her skin was already becoming healthier looking and almost seemed to be glowing as she tilted her head back with the wind and sighed as the sun caressed her face. Jared found himself enchanted with the changes that washed over her. She stood up carefully and walked down the hill just a bit, keeping in his sight as she took in the surroundings silently, clinging to the robe that was wrapped around her in the autumn morning chill.

 

He watched her wordlessly, feeling his own body relax from the stress and adrenaline their escape had caused. He began to think on what had happened and could only come to the conclusion that they had been betrayed. But how? And who?

 

A hand slipped into his hair and tugged lightly, startling him out of his thoughts. Jared looked over and smiled as Jeff smirked back at him before looking down at where Analise was hugging her brother tightly. “The sun came up and it was like it woke her up. It was amazing. She really is the One,” Jared said after a bit of silence and Jeff nodded thoughtfully.

 

The rest of the group joined them steadily, Jensen being in the third group that came to stand next to them. He grinned as he watched Andrew and Analise goof around a bit as the sun rose higher up. “Isn’t she cold?” he asked as they started coming back towards the rest of them.

 

“Nah, she’s always been warm-blooded,” Andrew answered him as they heard his question and Analise grinned sheepishly before shrugging off the robe and handing it to Jensen.

 

“Thanks for lending this to me, Mr. Ackles. It was very kind of you,” she murmured as she blushed and Jensen grinned at her.

 

“Believe me, it was no trouble. I think we’re all just glad to see you awake and smiling,” Jensen replied and she smiled slightly at him before ducking her head.

 

“I think it’s time we head to Eden. Even we can’t handle this chill for much longer and some of us are certainly not dressed for it,” Jeff suggested wryly and the others chuckled around him as Analise eeped softly in embarrassment.

 

“All right then…this way. It’s not far,” Jared instructed before strolling down the hill and into the trees, following a barely seen path that wove between the old growth. They walked for half an hour through the forest and up a hill at the last before breaking out and stopping at the top of the hill. Looking down, they saw a valley that held numerous tree houses among the towering forest. A set of solar panels stood next to them, lending energy to the tree city that was there. Jared grinned at Analise as she gasped in delight while staring down. “Welcome to Eden, Analise. Welcome to home.”

 

TBC

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 

Warnings: shower sex, masturbation, voyeurism. You’ve been warned!

 

_Telepathic speech_

_**Speech with animals** _

‘thoughts’

 

The trail to the tree city was a bit rough with leaves and some branches that had broken off recently, but they managed to get down the hill without too many problems. When they arrived there, they were met by a tall bearded man that was wearing the same robes as the rest of the Elam. He grinned as he bounced the baby in his arms and then bowed to Analise. “Welcome to Eden, Chosen One. My name is Robert Fale and I am the head of Eden. This little one is Alethea, my daughter,” he introduced himself and grinned at her through his soft brown beard.

 

“Pleased to meet you, Robert. My name is Analise Treber. Thanks for coming out in this cool weather to greet us,” Analise replied with a slight smile, uncomfortable with how she had been greeted and singled out. She blinked as Alethea reached for her with a giggle and she automatically moved forward and took the baby in her arms. “Hello there, Alethea. Aren’t you adorable?” she whispered and grinned as Alethea giggled and reached up to pat her face.

 

“She trusts you. You must be the One indeed,” Robert declared and smiled as Analise looked up at him in confusion. “She is a seer. She is Sati’s daughter,” he explained quietly.

 

Analise paled and swayed as tears filled her eyes and she looked at the baby. ‘Oh god…oh god her mom’s dead because of me…’ she thought and swallowed hard. She forced a smile and handed Alethea back to Robert. “She’s beautiful. I-I hate to be rude, but perhaps we could be shown to some guest rooms or something? I…I’m rather tired,” she whispered as she backed away with her head bowed, so she didn’t see the looks of concern that were exchanged among the others.

 

“There is a home readied for you already. Come, I shall show you. The rest of you already know your homes, so go on,” Robert ordered and smiled as the others laughed. He turned and looked over his shoulder as Alethea whined and reached over his shoulder for Analise. “Would you like to hold her again?” he asked as they walked along.

 

“No, thank you,” Analise replied quietly and kept a few paces back as her stomach roiled while she fought not to cry. How many others had lost family the other night? They walked through the city and she took notice of the different buildings and how they were built around the trees that they were on. They came to a stop in front of a house that was built around a tall, very ancient looking oak that sheltered it with its branches. It wrapped around the trunk and the roof was split by the large branches that thrust towards the sky. It was a rich brown log home and looked like it was new.

 

She could see some wires traveling along the trunk into the house and realized that they were for electricity as well as cable and internet. She noted some pipes that ran down the other side of the trunk and went over to touch them. She was surprised to find that they were insulated plastic and molded to the trunk as they plunged into the ground, where a well or pipeline for water must be. She looked up and saw a spiral staircase winding around the trunk until it came to the deck that ran all around the house. She looked over at Robert for permission, and then went up the stairs with him following.

 

At the top, she looked out and smiled a bit more this time as she saw everyone having fun or greeting each other. She blinked in surprise as she saw her brother kissing someone, but she looked away, feeling jealousy rise up before she could shove it aside. She went inside and swayed at the warmth that instantly wrapped around her. She looked around and saw a beautiful stone fireplace in the center of the far wall with a blazing fire in it and a large stone dais jutting out from it, then noted the vents in the floor as well as the large vaulting windows on either side of the fireplace. She put her hand over one of the vents and laughed slightly as it became warm and moist. ‘Steam heat…should have known,’ she thought before she returned to her explorations.

 

The floors were wood with a couple of rugs here and there and the walls climbed to the cathedral ceiling. The front door led into the dining room where a small dining table and a set of four chairs surrounded it. To the right, she found a half wall that could also be a bar and some stools in front of it. She trailed her hand along the black marble counter top as she went in and found the refrigerator, stove and oven, and even a microwave. She grinned as she saw the dishwasher and peeked into the fridge to find that it was empty. She shrugged and walked out of the kitchen and found a set of closets, which she slid open and noted their barrenness. She then saw the staircase that went up and followed it up to find a bedroom and bath with a large tub.

 

She went back downstairs and into the living room where Robert was letting Alethea play while she explored. She went to the side of the fireplace and looked out of the large window, breathless with the view. She turned around and went down the other hall that she’d seen, which had another bathroom, a washer and dryer in a closet, and another large bedroom. She returned to the living room and smiled uncertainly as she watched them.

 

“All of the appliances are energy sufficient and you can make a list of what you’d like and we shall buy them for you, such as food and clothing as well as any additional furniture,” Robert commented as he balanced Alethea. He looked up and smiled at her before lifting his daughter and standing. “Just ask anything of us, Chosen One. We are here to aide you,” he added and bowed.

 

“P-Please…my name is Analise. Don’t call me Chosen One. I don’t…I don’t deserve it,” Analise whispered and her voice choked a bit on her emotion.

 

“You are who you are. Do not worry,” Robert replied soothingly before bowing and leaving.

 

Analise watched him go and finally slid down to sit in front of the fireplace. Her face crumpled as she started crying softly, guilt and exhaustion as well as an overwhelming sense of being *lost* washed over her. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face in her knees as she cried, longing for her family and home and her cats welling up with her tears.

 

She cried for a few minutes, but soon she was just rocking herself, numb. She felt a breeze, but didn’t move. It was expected, right? It was a tree house after all. But the soft wet nose that pushed at her arm and the quiet whine wasn’t part of the whole tree house experience, so she looked up in surprise and blinked as she was met with a pair of brown eyes over a longer golden brown snout. The dog whined again and nudged her hand and she smiled slightly as she reached up and pet the dog. “Um, hello there…how’d you get in?” she asked in bemusement as she scratched behind the large ears.

 

The dog tilted its head. _**We come in when he sensed you crying. You no cry? It pretty here and you should not be sad,**_ was said and Analise pushed back as she heard the curious words. The dog whined and shuffled forward, nudging her reassuringly.

 

“How am I able to hear you?” Analise whispered as she shook and felt more tears well up. She sniffled and shook her head. “I’m a freak…”

 

 _ **You no freak. All Elam can hear animals!**_ the dog replied and its tongue lolled out in a doggie grin.

 

Laughing slightly through her tears, Analise began scratching the dog’s ears again. “You’re…You’re Sadie, aren’t you? I recognize you,” she said softly and the dog’s tail began whipping across the floor quickly.

 

 _ **You know me?? You know me! I Sadie! I Jared’s Sadie and Jared is Sadie’s!**_ was the excited reply and Analise giggled and wiped at her face. She laughed thickly as Sadie licked her face and pushed close enough for her to wrap her arms around the large dog. _**Jared and Jensen and Jeff worry for you. They worry you are sad. Are you sad? Why you sad?**_

 

Sighing, Analise buried her face in the soft fur. “I’m responsible for people dying last night, Sadie. I…I can’t forgive myself for that. All because of something they hope I am…I just don’t know what to do,” she whispered as more tears rolled free down her face and into the warm fur.

 

Sadie shifted and whined, then her tail sped up suddenly as the soft sound of footsteps drew nearer. Another furry body pressed against Analise as a wet curious tongue licked her face. She looked up and into another dog’s face and grinned. “You must be Harley.”

 

 _ **I am…Jared send us to make you smile. He knows you miss your cats. Will your cats play with us if we have them here?**_ Harley replied and grinned a big doggie grin before barking as Analise laughed again.

 

“I don’t know, Harley. If you’re nice, I guess. And I guess I should thank Mr. Padalecki for being so kind,” Analise replied with a soft smile.

 

 _ **Jared’s father not here…why you thank him?**_ Harley asked as he tilted his head and Analise laughed out loud at that and was echoed by another laugh, which startled her.

 

Looking over, Analise stood up quickly and shifted on her feet as she saw Jared sprawled on the rather bare wooden floor, leaning on his elbow as he grinned at her. “Um…uh…hi…” she stuttered as she wrung her hands a bit and he grinned at her as he stood up. She couldn’t help watching him and quickly kicked away any longing she might have for him. He was definitely WAY out of her league!

 

“I’m glad the dogs helped. I had a feeling they would,” Jared replied as he stretched a bit. He looked around and nodded. “They did pretty good here for ya. Is there anything you need?” he commented before looking back at her and smiling.

 

“Um…furniture and food I guess,” Analise whispered as she looked away. “Kinda hard to take a nap on the floor, though I guess I could do it,” she added somewhat teasingly, though her smile slipped away almost immediately.

 

Jared shifted towards her and stopped just outside of where the dogs were sitting. “Analise…everything that happened last night could not have been predicted. But you *are* important to us. It’s for the good of everything that-“

 

“Just stop!!” Analise cried, cutting him off and he blinked in surprise at her. She wrapped her arms around her chest, hugging herself as she cried. “Just…stop it. I’m not that important. I don’t give a rat’s ass if you guys think I’m some Wiccan Messiah or whatever the hell you think I am, but I’m not! I just…I have bad luck! That’s my power!” She sobbed slightly and ducked her head. “I wish I’d died when I got sick. Then no one would have been hurt.”

 

“Your family would have been and all of the people you *will* save would have been. How can you think that?” Jared asked gently as he leaned in and the dogs whined and shifted closer to her, nudging her hands to comfort her.

 

“You’re right. What am I thinking? Why should I wish something so selfish? I mean, after all…my feelings or self don’t matter. It’s what I am that matters,” Analise whispered tearfully and Jared jerked.

 

“No, Analise, that’s not what I meant,” Jared answered in protest and reached for her, but stopped as she looked up, tears rolling down her face even as she smiled. “Analise…” he trailed off helplessly.

 

“Thanks for coming to see me, Mr. Padalecki. You can go now. I’ve been alone this long. I think I can handle being alone again. Don’t let me stand in the way of your own duties,” Analise stated softly before looking away and wiping her face.

 

Opening his mouth to protest, Jared stopped and sighed as he let his hand fall. “All right, if you think you’ll be fine. I’ll find Andrew and tell him to come visit,” he responded unhappily.

 

“Don’t. He’s got other things to do,” Analise replied brusquely, which confused Jared. He could almost see the emotional wall going up around her and felt helpless to break through it. He believed her when she said that she’s been alone for so long, but she didn’t have to be that way. She looked back over at him and it was like a punch to Jared’s gut when he saw the flat cast to her gaze and the falseness of her smile. “I’ll be fine. I could use a flat surface to sleep. It’s not a problem. And I could stand to lose some weight, so don’t send anyone, all right? I’ll be fine,” she asserted before looking down and petting the dogs on their heads once and moving around them to go to the door.

 

Following her, Jared watched her as the dogs followed him, but he stopped beside her as she opened the door. The dogs whined, but went outside at Jared’s nod, leaving Jared and Analise alone. Analise didn’t look up at him as she stood with the cold seeping in and he could see that she was getting cold with just her sandals, t-shirt, and capris the only clothing she had. He reached out suddenly and pulled her to him, hugging her as she struggled a bit before just relaxing into his hold. “I’m going to come by later with catalogs. We have lots of people in the Elam that are very rich, so they contribute to our people and that’s how we can live so comfortably and off the map here in Eden. It’s no trouble whatsoever and I want to come and visit. So just rest and I’ll be by later,” he said quietly as he rubbed her shaking back with a large hand, soothing her. He stepped back and slipped out of his robe, then wrapped it around her. She looked up to protest and he smiled at her. “At least for now, ok? I’ve got clothes here and you don’t.” He felt his heart fall as her face shuttered at the reminder of her situation and he kicked himself mentally. “We’ll fix that, ok? Just…go and rest. You’ve had a rough night,” he suggested softly and she snorted.

 

“Gee, ya think?” she retorted sarcastically and he grinned at her. She sighed and tugged his robe around her tightly. “Thanks. I’ll be fine,” she muttered as she kept her face turned away.

 

Reaching up, he tucked a strand of her short brown hair behind her ear and smiled at her when she looked up. “Eventually you will be. I’ll be by later, promise,” he said before stepping out. He jogged down the stairs and looked up at the bottom to see her watching him wistfully. Heart lifting with hope, he smiled and waved and felt warmth shoot through him as she smiled back and waved in return before she went inside. He stuffed his hands into his pants and went to the house he shared with Jensen and Jeff. He had to get those catalogs and then discuss things with Jensen and Jeff.

 

With her awakened, their positions had changed in the Elam. They were her Guardians. It had been proven at her induction when a symbol had suddenly appeared on their chests above their hearts: a triquetra with a circle around it. They knew it symbolized the Earth, the Heavens, and the Spirit realm, with a circle forever connecting them all. They’d already figured out that Jared was the Earth representation, Jensen was the Spirit persona, and Jeff represented the Heavens. They knew with all they were that Analise was the circle, completing and connecting them. But how to explain that to her? How to explain something that was so easy to understand to someone who couldn’t believe in her own worth? Jared knew they had to find a way and soon. He felt that if they didn’t, things would break faster than fragile glass on a floor.

 

He arrived at their house and climbed up with the dogs on his heels. They went in as soon as he opened the door and he grinned as he found Bisou waiting for them patiently. He glanced around as he gave them their food, and then went into the bathroom, where he heard the shower running over the moans that were floating out. He leaned against the door jamb and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the foggy shadows in the clear glass shower stall. From the looks of it, Jensen was enjoying the slow thrusts that Jeff was delivering and Jared couldn’t deny *that* mood. He licked his lips and focused a little, getting the stall door to clear up just enough so he could watch without any obstruction.

 

His hand drifted down to between his legs where his cock was pushing against his jeans as he watched the slow movements and let himself drown in the moans and quiet encouragement that were growled out. He unzipped his pants and pulled out his erection, shuddering as Jensen begged softly for more and cried out when he was answered with a sharp thrust. Jared started stroking himself in time to their actions, letting his long fingers play with his balls briefly as he spread his legs to balance better. His eyes never left them and he couldn’t help admiring their firm muscular bodies sliding together under the hot spray. Jeff’s buttocks flexed steadily as he framed Jensen with his body, both protecting and trapping the other man as he took pleasure from Jensen’s body. Jensen threw his head back and groaned as Jeff started thrusting harder and faster and Jeff bit his neck before sucking a path down the bared skin until he came to Jensen’s flexing shoulder. Fist clenching against the slippery wall, Jensen panted as their interlocked hands stroked his cock in counter to the rough thrusts that were splitting him open deliciously.

 

Smirking as he bit his lip, Jared watched them as he sped up his own strokes, smoothing his thumb over the head of his cock and groaning a bit as his knees buckled just a bit. He had a sudden vision of Analise being there with one of them and shuddered at the image as it seemed to travel to his lovers and urged them on. Jeff looked over his shoulder at him, his eyes smoldering with passion and need as he thrust savagely into Jensen and Jared met his gaze with just as much desire as he stroked himself to completion. Jensen’s sharp cry shot out suddenly as he came hard, his release smacking into the wet wall before it was washed away as he jerked and trembled with ecstasy. Jeff and Jared weren’t far behind as with a couple more strokes they both climaxed, either on their hand or deep inside Jensen.

 

Jeff collapsed a bit against Jensen and they slid to the floor of the shower as the water sluiced over them, mirroring Jared as he slid down dazedly and sprawled in the doorway. Panting softly as his head lolled, Jared replayed that last image in his mind, savoring it. It had been so natural…so right. He knew his lovers felt the same way and it excited him. They would find a way to make things right and to get to that point or his name wasn’t Jared Padalecki!

 

He grinned as Jeff stepped out of the shower first while Jensen shut off the water and grabbed the hand offered to him. He groaned as he was pulled into a heated kiss before being released. “Liked watching, hmm?” Jeff growled out and Jared felt a shiver run up his spine in delight and fought the urge to roll over and let Jeff take him. That’s just the kind of reaction Jeff had on him.

 

“Was a great show…free even,” Jared replied huskily as firm large hands ran over his sticky stomach down to where his pants were parted and his half flaccid cock was resting idly. He pouted though as the touches fell away and he looked into Jeff’s amused gaze. “What?”

 

“You were a bad boy giving us that image. How is she?” Jeff retorted before taking the towel that Jensen tossed him and drying himself.

 

Frowning as he went over and rinsed his hand off before just stripping his soiled clothes off and tossing them into the hamper, Jared sighed as the last image of Analise came to his mind’s eye. “Not so good. She’s trying to keep it together, but meeting Alethea was a shock to her system she really didn’t need right now. Damn Robert. I don’t give a rat’s ass if he *is* a prophet! He should have*foreseen* the reaction she would have had if he’d had any brains in the first place!” he exploded and gripped the counter top in an effort to not slam his fists on it in his frustration. The mirror in front of him as well as the glass of the stall door of the shower began to shake as he trembled.

 

A gentle hand caressed down his arm, calming him and he looked over into Jensen’s eyes. Jensen watched him seriously as he rubbed Jared’s arm. “Losing control won’t help her, Jare. You know this. We’re responsible for her just as much as her family is and we have to leave on Sunday. Get under control so we can go see her,” he ordered softly and smiled as Jared took a couple of deep breaths, visibly calming down. Jensen glanced at Jeff with a smirk. “Go get dressed and go to Vali. She’s got those catalogs and the order pad,” he directed their older lover as he continued to rub Jared’s shoulder and arm.

 

“I’ll be right back,” Jeff answered and leaned in for a deep kiss from them before he left to get changed.

 

Jared smiled as he watched Jeff before turning his attention back to Jensen. But, before he could even say anything, Jensen started combing his hair. “Go and get showered, Jedi boy. You should at least smell nice for her instead of like a sewer,” Jensen instructed and grinned as Jared laughed out loud at that. His words were true and Jared knew he needed the shower. As he stepped into the shower and relaxed under the hot water, he let his troubles rinse down into the drain with the rest of the dirt. They would succeed…they had to.

 

TBC

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 

‘thoughts’

_Telepathic speech_

_**Animal speech** _

 

Looking up as she heard a knock on her door, Analise stood and opened the door to find her brother there. She smiled weakly and accepted the hug that he wrapped around her. He rubbed her back as she rested her cheek on his chest and just held onto him. After a minute, she led him inside and he whistled as he looked around. “Nice, sis! And look at that fireplace! Put a fur rug in front of it and you’ll get all sorts of romance!” he commented and she snorted as she rolled her eyes at him before sitting on one of the stools next to the kitchen counter. He sat down across from her and watched her worriedly as she picked at an invisible spot on the counter. “How’re you doing, sis?” he asked gently as he reached a large hand out to cover her own.

 

“Well, let’s see. I find out I’m some freak that is a prophesized Chosen One for a secret society, I am the result of a few deaths when a bunch of wackos attack an innocent meeting, I meet Jensen, Jared, and Jeff and find out they’re like the J-cubed X-men or something, and I end up going through a sewer to a secret colony in, what I’m guessing is the Smoky Mountains, and I can’t even take a shower cuz I don’t have any clothes with me. My cats are at home, no one knows where I am, mom is going to be freakin’ pissed that I’m not working and I can talk to Jared’s dogs. Yeup, doing great,” she replied mockingly before sighing and covering her face with her shaking hands.

 

“Jared stopped by earlier with Sadie and Harley?” Andrew asked gently and smirked. “Should have known.”

 

“Why does he care anyways? Is it just because I’m this supposed Chosen One?” Analise asked irritably as she wiped at her eyes before standing and going towards her fireplace.

 

Standing and following her, Andrew frowned lightly. “He didn’t tell you?” he replied in confusion.

 

“Tell me *what*?” Analise demanded in exasperation as she sat down next to the raised dais.

 

Running a hand through his hair, Andrew sighed. “Great. Thanks a lot there, Jared…” he growled before lying out next to his sister. “He, Jensen, and Jeff are your Guardians. Like, specifically destined to be your Guardians. You’re like linked or something, I think. Not sure. Only they would know. But it’s their obligation to protect you no matter what,” he explained then flinched as he realized what he’d just said when he saw his sister’s face shut down and close off faster than he’d ever seen. “Shit, Analise no…that’s um…that’s not what I meant…” he stuttered as he sat up and reached for her.

 

She didn’t resist as he placed a hand on her arm, but she didn’t look at him. “So, they’re just concerned because they’re basically forced to be. Nothing special there, huh?” Analise whispered and Andrew felt a lump in his throat as he sensed her feelings before she closed off to him. She shouldn’t have been able to do that so quickly yet, but he’d always known that she hid her feelings more often than showed them. She pulled away from his hold and leaned against the dais. “Bad things come in threes,” she muttered and sighed.

 

“That’s not true, sis. I mean, you’ve got this great house and ya know you’re special,” Andrew replied desperately as he tried to think of a way to make it better. With how she kept herself turned away, he knew he was failing hard. “Um, so…did you want me to get anything for you? Did Jared tell you that we have a communal breakfast?” He scratched the back of his head and sighed as she shrugged. “Analise…”

 

“I can’t go out in public in sewer smelling clothes, Andrew. And I’m not hungry. I don’t think I’ll be hungry for a long time,” she retorted before looking at him. “Just…just go away and go be with your new girlfriend. Don’t let me interrupt,” she told him before looking away.

 

Flummoxed, Andrew stared at her. “You…you know I’m dating again?” he asked in shock.

 

“Saw you making out earlier. Kinda hard to miss,” she whispered and curled up harder.

 

“Oh…um…”

 

“Do mom and dad know? I mean, they seem to know everything else involving our family being part of this cult thing, so I’m sure everyone but me knew, huh?” Analise spat out as she leaned her cheek on her knees.

 

Andrew was silent for a bit as he stared at her in a mixture of hurt and anger. “Yea, the others know about Fei Ling. We’ve been dating for almost a year now since I met her at my induction,” he answered stiffly and swallowed as she stiffened.

 

“Good for you. She’s better than that bitch you married. At least this time you’re listening to mom and dad and waiting before hopping into marriage with her,” she muttered bitterly and he sighed angrily.

 

“Look, get over it, Analise! I didn’t tell you because you haven’t exactly been talking to me for a while now, have you?” he snapped at her and she looked over at him, eyes blazing.

 

“Yea? And who exactly basically told his entire family to go fuck themselves because he was getting some pussy finally?!” she shot back and Andrew had to put a hand up as she blazed briefly with her anger. But what worried him then and there was the darkness that seemed to writhe in the midst of the light she exuded. Something wasn’t right…

 

But before he could say anything, she was curled up and scooting back towards the left window next to the fireplace before she started to rock herself, whimpering. He moved closer, and then stopped as he encountered a wall. She shouldn’t have been able to *do* that yet! “Analise, I need you to calm down,” he murmured cajolingly as he used his own power to try and pull down the wall, but she resisted him. “Analise, let me in.”

 

“No! Just…I can’t control this, Andrew! I don’t know what’s going on and everything is my fault!” Analise shouted back frantically and started sobbing into her knees. The fire burst into a larger blaze in reaction and the rugs and the stools started to float around them.

 

“Analise, you need to calm down and just…relax your mind. Your emotions are using your powers to do things and you can’t control it yet. You have to calm down, c’mon…” Andrew whispered soothingly as he tried to get closer to her and began to worry. He blinked then as Sadie was suddenly next to him, whining as she tried to get closer.

 

 _ **Analise calm down? Sadie and Harley and Bisou come play with you! Put floating things down and come play with us?**_ she said and whined again. Harley came over as well with his tail wagging as he barked and Bisou stood near Jensen, Jared, and Jeff from where they were standing near the door.

 

Looking up, Analise sniffled and wiped her eyes. “S-Sadie? H-How do I…I don’t know how…” she whispered and trembled.

 

“You need to calm your mind and imagine everything floating back to the ground. Just think that you have them all on strings and that you’re lowering them back down,” Jensen instructed gently as he came over slowly, dodging the various floating pieces. He knelt down next to Andrew and smiled at her. “Come on. I know you can do it,” he said encouragingly.

 

Biting her lip, Analise nodded and seemed to become unfocused and gradually the rugs and stools floated back to their original spots without even a tremble of unbalance. Impressed, Jensen winked at Andrew as Jeff and Jared came over. “Now I need you to imagine the wall you put up dissolving, Analise. You can do it,” he coached her and she nodded again. They felt the wall go down slowly and Sadie, Harley, and Bisou surged towards her, barking and licking her excitedly as she smiled in relief and relaxed, petting them.

 

“She’s good. Usually it would take one of us days to learn that stuff and she did it in a couple of minutes,” Jeff murmured as they watched her.

 

 _You guys, I accidentally might have made her very wary about you three. She thinks you only want to be around her because of your duties as Guardians,_ Andrew admitted as he looked up at them. He grunted as Jensen thwapped him lightly upside the head.

 

 _Wonderful. She has enough problems and she’s not going to like the news that she can’t go home,_ Jeff grumbled and sighed.

 

“I can’t go home?”

 

The question shocked them all and they looked over to see Analise staring at them with wide eyes as she paled and her hands fell to her sides. She closed them tightly then and sniffled. “I can’t ever go home? You’re keeping me prisoner or something?” she asked in a choked voice, alarming them.

 

“No, Analise! Nothing like that! It’s for your safety! And it’s just until things cool down and we fall off of the radar for the Faithful! You’ll go home soon, just…just not now,” Jared explained quickly as he moved closer towards her, but met with a slight buffer. He deflated as she turned her face away and sniffled, but the dogs all leaned in and licked at her face and hands, trying to cheer her up.

 

“Here now…this has to stop, Analise,” Jeff stated gruffly and she looked up at him in bewilderment. He stepped closer and squatted down next to her, unhindered, and wiped her face. “We all know that all of this is new, frightening, and very upsetting. But we’re trying to help. And I think you’ll agree that crying constantly over things won’t help. It’ll just make you sick and everyone else wary to even suggest helping you,” he said quietly and then hugged her. She sniffled and hugged him back tightly and the other three men relaxed as they felt her calming down.

 

“I’m sorry for being such a pain…” she whispered into his shoulder.

 

“It’s to be expected, I suppose. Sophie would always mention how much of a drama queen you could be,” Jeff teased her and she giggled before sniffling and leaning back to smile at him. He wiped her face again and smiled at her.

 

“You know my mom? That’s so cool, but I’m going to kick her cuz she knows how much I like you three and she didn’t get your autographs!” Analise declared and they all laughed. She looked over at her brother and cocked an eyebrow. “You too! You *knew* I fangirl over them constantly! How could you deny your sister such things as autographs?” she demanded and Andrew put up his hands defensively.

 

“Outside of the Elam, we’re to act as if we don’t know each other in reality unless we become friends out there! So, if I’d gone with you to the convention and seen them, I’d have had to act like a fan instead of a good friend!” Andrew protested and the other three nodded.

 

“Really? That sucks…” Analise replied and made a face before wiping her face again and sighing. “And here I wanted to gloat to all my friends,” she stated longingly and they all snorted with laughter.

 

“So, we brought those catalogs, so look through them and we can put in the order with Vali later when we go to breakfast,” Jared said as he handed her the catalogs, which were various high fashion and high tech catalogs.

 

She opened the first one warily and her eyes widened as she closed it quickly. “I can’t order anything in here! It’s freakin’ expensive!” she hissed out as she stared at them.

 

“Er…remember when I mentioned some of our members are rich? Yea, so there’s no such thing as too expensive,” Jared retorted and grinned at her.

 

“You sure?” Analise asked uncertainly as she fingered the cover.

 

“Ok, dude…stop questioning every damn thing, sis! I swear to Gaia you are so untrusting! Not everyone is going to fuck you over like that bitch that was your room mate and that girl in Florida!” Andrew burst out in exasperation and she looked at him hesitantly. “And to top it off…we don’t need to pay it back! It’s a community fund! We live safe happy lives! Deal with it and start getting stuff you’ve always dreamed of!” he added as he scooted closer around the dogs, who had draped themselves over Analise’s legs and lap.

 

Looking down at the catalog, Analise thought over what he’d said then looked up at him with a wondering smile. “Really? I can…really? I mean…this house and I can get things for it and…really? No paybacks or strings?” she asked with growing excitement and the other three men had to blink at how radiant she was.

 

“Totally! You *have* to come to my house to see all the neat things I got! Now come on!” Andrew replied with a laugh before opening the first catalog for her.

 

“Ok!” she responded and giggled and Jensen, Jared, and Jeff looked at each other with smiles and the same adoring look. She flipped through the catalogs slowly, talking over with them what would work for which room in furniture and decided on a deep green microfiber couch set that would take up one entire wall and would go half way through the second and a lazy boy recliner as well as several book shelves for the living room. She picked out a large entertainment center before deciding on a large cherry cabinet for dishes for the dining room.

 

She then chose a double bed for the guest bedroom that was a four poster and a four post California king sized bed with a canopy for the master bedroom at the subtle suggestion of Jensen. A large dresser with a mirror over most of it went into the master bedroom and she picked a smaller version for the guest bedroom and two smaller entertainment centers were picked for both rooms.

 

In the office room as she deemed it, she put in a large glass and oak desk that would go in the corner and a large office chair went with it. She then put a futon in there and another entertainment center and several more bookshelves, explaining that she expected to at least be able to get her stuff from the outside world sometime, which they assured her she would. When she finished with that catalog, she opened the second and began deciding on bath towels, kitchen towels, tools, decorations, sheets, pillows, and other various necessities for the rooms. The third catalog held all of the electronics and she squealed as she looked at them each earnestly to make sure it was still ok. They laughed and nodded and she began searching eagerly.

 

She chose a brand new computer with all the bells and whistles. She then chose a sound system that would hook up to her computer and be able to go throughout her home. She picked out four plasma screen TVs, one that was a 62” that would go in the living room, then three 42” that would go in the bedrooms and computer room. She then decided on a DVD player sound system for the living room and three simple DVD players for the bedrooms and computer room. Finished with that, she moved to the final catalog and wavered.

 

It was the food and clothing catalog and she sighed as she paged through it. When nudged by her brother, she murmured to him, “I don’t want to give away my size. It’s embarrassing enough.”

 

He laughed at that and shook his head before touching her face. _Sis, didn’t anyone tell you yet that you can control your body weight with your mind? All you have to do is focus your mind on what your ideal weight would be and it will get there within a week and you won’t even have flabby skin or stretch marks. You just have to focus every morning and night for a few minutes on what you would like to look like ideally and your body will do it,_ he explained and her eyes widened.

 

“You’re shittin’ me!” she whispered in shock, surprising the others and Andrew laughed again.

 

“Nope, not shittin’ ya, sis,” he replied with a grin. “How do you think I lost that weight after I divorced Jennifer?”

 

“I thought…er…never mind, I never thought anything,” Analise replied sheepishly and he snickered at her as the other three grinned. “Can I decide on the food later? Or…wait how long will it take for everything to come in?”

 

“We’ll give this to Vali at breakfast and it’ll prolly all be here by the evening,” Jared responded as he ran his fingers over Sadie’s ears and body.

 

“Oh…well er…um…ok…I guess I could get a few outfits for now and then get other stuff later…” Analise mumbled as she looked over everything. She then rattled off all of the clothes she wanted, which were just some jeans and t-shirts and a pair of sneakers as well as some underwear, which she blushingly told them. She then picked out various foods, focusing a lot on the vegetables, fruits, and other healthier choices. She winked at them as she ordered several cheese fries from Portesi’s, which cracked her brother up and confused the other three. She made them promise to come over sometime and she’d make them some cheese fries, which got them all chuckling.

 

Once she was done ordering everything, she had five pages of items and an appetite. She went to the bathroom when her brother promised to bring her some cleaning supplies, which he just floated over and into the shower for her. They all smiled as they felt her happiness and gratitude, but there was still an underlying tension and sorrow in her that had them worried. When she came out with Jared’s robe wrapped around her, they were surprised to note that she was already losing weight. They led her to the communal gathering hall for breakfast and got in line. Analise kept herself hidden between them, not wanting any special treatment and smiled at them gratefully when they honored her silent wish.

 

As they were walking up in the line, Jared leaned down to her. “Hey, I do have something I wanted to ask you,” he said quietly and she looked up at him over her shoulder. He grinned at her and brushed a strand of her wet hair from her cheek. “I was wondering if you could take care of the dogs while we’re gone this week. We all have to do some filming and then we’ll be coming back to take our dogs to Christmas with our families. But I’d feel a lot better if they could be here cuz they like it here and they really like you so…”

 

“Sure…um…I guess. I mean…why me?” Analise asked in bemusement as she smiled hesitantly at him.

 

“Cuz you’re my friend?” Jared retorted with a look and she giggled. “At least…I hope we’re friends?” he added softly, hopefully and she smiled brilliantly at him.

 

“I’d like that a lot, Mr. Padalecki. I’ll take care of your dogs and I’m assuming Mr. Morgan’s as well?” she responded and he grinned at her.

 

“Yeup. Thanks so much, Analise. I really appreciate it,” Jared answered before kissing her on the cheek and straightening. As he watched her blush and look ahead, he nodded firmly. ‘And you *will* start calling me Jared soon…I plan on it,’ he thought decisively.

 

TBC

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

 

‘thoughts’

_Telepathic speech_

_**Animal speech** _

 

Humming quietly as he strolled down the roadway that was the ‘main street’ of Eden, Mike Rosenbaum grinned and waved to a couple of people as he went to his home there. He had decided to come to Eden to see the girl who was said to be the Chosen One, unsatisfied with Jared and Jensen’s descriptions of her. He’d gotten done early with his own filming so, before he went home for Christmas, he wanted to meet this girl that his friends were so enamored with. He chuckled as he saw Andrew Treber and waved. “Hey Andrew!” he called out and trotted over to where the other young man was standing near the practice glade where they would train their powers and the art of wielding the naginata.

 

“Mike! Wow, been a while, Mr. Lex Luthor! How’s it hangin’?” Andrew answered and shook hands with Mike while grinning.

 

“Good and it’s great to see you. I was actually hoping to meet the Chosen One before I went home for Christmas and I happened to get off of work early,” Mike answered and smirked at his friend.

 

“Yea, I bet that involved some unseen schedule changes, huh?” Andrew retorted with a snort and Mike laughed lightly.

 

“Now, now…you know I don’t do that…often,” Mike replied modestly and Andrew laughed. “So where is she?” he asked as he glanced around.

 

“She’s training right now with Robert. Robert and I…seem to be the only ones willing to train with her,” Andrew reported quietly and he looked away with a frown. “Still, she’s basically mastered everything and then some within four days. It’s incredible!” he added enthusiastically as he looked back at his suddenly skeptical friend.

 

“No way…four days? Impossible!” Mike whispered in shock.

 

“Yea, I know. What’s kind of scary is that I think we’re only scratching the surface of her abilities. She’s able to mimic our powers for a short amount of time when she touches us. I mean, yesterday she got a vision of something that was going to happen in a couple of years when she accidentally ran into Robert!” Andrew explained and nibbled her lip. “But the most extraordinary thing is that…Mike, she can purify things! She can change them into their purest original form!” he whispered and looked up at his friend.

 

“No…way. How?” Mike asked, stunned.

 

“I…I’m not sure even she knows. But she can absorb energy of any kind and then use it to purify something that’s been soiled. However, it has scared everyone or…or actually it’s made them want to almost worship her. Mike, I’m really afraid for her,” Andrew murmured worriedly.

 

“Why do you say that?” Mike inquired softly as they started walking towards the training clearing.

 

“No one will sit by her except for me. Everyone keeps bowing to her and calling her Chosen One. The kids aren’t even allowed to play with her! It’s…it’s killing her, Mike, and I don’t know what to do! She’s…she hasn’t been this isolated in a couple of years and this is worse than not having friends! This is almost like she’s a pariah and that’s making her want to just leave!” he informed Mike desperately as they walked along the path.

 

Mike bit his lip in worry. The guys were NOT going to be happy about this! He stopped though as they arrived at the glade clearing and felt the breath leave him. He watched as a slender lady almost danced around Robert while whirling her practice staff in attacks and deflects. Her face was light with a smile and her green eyes sparkled in the new snow that had fallen earlier the other night. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail and bounced around as she fought with Robert. Her grace was incredible to watch and Mike felt longing shoot through him before he remembered himself. He took a deep breath then looked over as Andrew elbowed him and grinned weakly when he saw his friend’s grin. “You didn’t tell me she’s gorgeous!” he hissed out.

 

“She’s my sister! No one would believe me until they saw her! Believe it or not, but she used to be heavier set. She lost all her weight in the first two days and with all of her hard practice, she’s honed it down to muscle,” Andrew retorted and winked. But his grin slid off of his face as he watched his sister.

 

Looking over to see what had bothered the younger man, Mike blinked as he saw that the two had stopped practicing. Analise was kneeling in the snow as she caught her breath and was petting three dogs that he recognized as being Jared and Jeff’s. But it was her face that captured and hurt him. He saw sadness and loneliness in her face as well as pain. He’d heard that loneliness was painful, but he’d never thought he’d see actual signs of it. Nibbling on his lip, he sighed softly. “Jared, Jensen, and Jeff aren’t going to like this at all,” he murmured quietly, then took out his cell phone.

 

“Whatcha doing?” Andrew asked when he caught sight of the phone.

 

“Sending pics to Jared. I promised I would,” Mike murmured as he brought up Jared’s email and then his camera phone. He pointed it at Analise and took a couple of pictures and his breath hitched when he got one of her smiling up at Robert when the older man helped her to stand. “I think I have a crush for your sister, man,” he muttered and Andrew laughed, catching his sister’s attention.

 

She waved and came over as Mike quickly sent the pictures to Jared along with a note about Analise’s troubles. She grinned at him as she arrived and he held his hand out to her. “Hi! I’m Mike Rosenbaum!” he greeted her and she giggled and bit her lip as she shook hands with him while the dogs bounced around them.

 

“Analise Treber. Come to check out the Chosen One?” she responded with only a hint of bitterness and resignation.

 

“Sorta. I came to check up on my man, Andrew here before Christmas with the family and you just happened to be an added treat,” Mike answered suavely and wondered on the flash of sadness that passed over her face when he mentioned Christmas.

 

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Mr. Rosenbaum. I really enjoy you as Lex Luthor. I think you’re my favorite character on that show,” Analise said before grinning down at the dogs. “We were just going to head in to get cleaned up and eat then I was just going to relax for the day. I hope you have a good Christmas,” she added before turning away.

 

“Wait…alone? I’ll hang with you!” Mike protested as she started to trudge back.

 

“Best not, Mr. Rosenbaum. People around here don’t like others getting cozy with me. Save yourself some trouble,” Analise answered before waving over her shoulder. “See you later, baby bro! Same time!” she called out as she walked away.

 

“That…wasn’t what I’d expected,” Mike remarked as they stared after her.

 

“It’s how she’s reacted since several of the more…influential people of our community basically reamed into anyone who thought to befriend her,” Andrew responded quietly as he looked down at his mittened hands. “I don’t know what to do anymore, Mike. She *needs* people! She’s always been a hands-on person and cares about people so much! So to be shunned…”

 

“It’s killing her,” Mike concluded for him grimly and Andrew nodded sadly. He clapped the younger man on the back. “No worries, man! Jared, Jensen, and Jeff won’t let her go without a fight!” he declared firmly and Andrew shot him a weak smile.

 

“I hope so, Mike…I hope so,” Andrew whispered before leading the way back to the city.

 

*~*~*

 

Jared sighed as he sat in the make-up trailer to get the last of the blood put onto him. He grinned as he was thwapped by Janie before relaxing and letting her put the finishing touches on his face. He blinked as his cell phone buzzed with an incoming message, then pulled it out.

 

“Who buzzed ya?” Jensen asked from where he was having his hair messed with. He grinned at Jared in the mirror and winked when Jared stuck his tongue out.

 

Checking his phone, Jared grinned widely, but then grunted as he was thwapped again. “Sorry...um, anyways, Mikey emailed me! Sent me pictures!” he informed his lover before accessing the message. He frowned then as he read the message.

 

“What is it?” Jensen asked quietly as he felt the distress that ran through Jared.

 

“In a minute,” Jared murmured as he started going through the pictures. His breath caught as he came to the picture of Analise smiling up at Robert while she played with Jared’s dogs and he had to shift to relieve the sudden pressure in his pants.

 

“What a lovely woman! Who is that, Jared?” Janie asked as she looked over his shoulder at his phone.

 

“A girl I’ve been trying to get the guts up to ask out,” Jared whispered huskily and Janie laughed as she finished up.

 

“You? Having problems asking a girl out? Yea right!” she replied before standing back. “Besides, I thought you, Jensen, and Jeff are a thing now,” she added with a grin at him and he grinned back.

 

“A thing...we’re not ‘a thing’...we’re dating...” Jensen grumbled as he stood up and stretched before hugging his stylist. “Thanks Sonia! C’mon, angst boy...” he said before dragging Jared after him while waving to their giggling make-up artists. They got to Jensen’s trailer and sat down. “Ok, so spill it...what did Mike say and what did you look at that has you so horny now?” he demanded and smirked as Jared grinned at him before looking at his phone.

 

“Mike sent some pictures, but his message has me worried. He says, ‘Hey Jared, thought I’d send you those pics like I promised. Andrew has been letting me in on the lowdown and it’s not good. Analise is being almost isolated and he’s worried for her. But she’s looking good and I think that, when you guys come to visit, you better start spending some good quality time with her. Get what I mean? Later! Mikey’,” Jared responded and then showed Jensen the pictures. He grinned as Jensen’s breath caught at the same picture that had caught him and he nodded. “I know...she looks...”

 

“Ethereal and so...” Jensen let his breath out slowly before grinning widely at Jared. “Now I know why you’re horny. Sending them to Jeff?” he asked as Jared took his phone back and started scrolling through a menu.

 

“Yea...I hope we get done early today. I have a need to get to her ASAP,” Jared muttered as he forwarded the message to Jeff and then replied to Mike, thanking him. He looked over at Jensen with a smirk. “Let’s get things done right today so we can beat it,” he stated and Jensen nodded before standing. It was time for some fast filming!

 

After they had finished filming for the hiatus, Jensen and Jared took the ride to their hotel to pack up. They then caught their flight to LA and met up with Jeff there before going to the park just outside of Hollywood. When they got there, they walked down a hidden pathway until the arrived at an old abandoned warehouse. Going inside, they activated the Path there and headed for Eden, arriving just as the sun was setting.

 

Jared gasped as they walked out into the crisp winter air and he rubbed his arms before noting that his lovers were doing something he hadn’t thought of: getting their winter coats on. He scrambled for his largest suitcase and pulled out his coat before yanking it on, shivering. “Oh fucking shit I forgot how cold it gets here!” he hissed out as his teeth chattered and Jensen and Jeff just laughed at him before they started their trek to their home.

 

Just as they were getting close to their home, they all heard some barking and suddenly were surrounded by three joyful dogs that were each doing their best to lick at their faces. Laughing, the three men fended off their attacks with rough petting and mock growls before Sadie, Harley, and Bisou had all been suitably calmed and petted, though their tails never stopped making furrows in the ankle deep snow.

 

“That’s what got them so excited.”

 

Analise’s comment had them looking up instantly and smiling as she came over, hugging her thick coat around her as she walked along the barely cleared pathway. She smiled back slightly and waved before petting the dogs as they rushed back to her. “It’s good to see you three. I liked last week’s episode, by the way. Very amusing,” she remarked quietly as she stood up and fiddled with her mittens.

 

“We missed you,” Jared blurted out, trying to do anything that might bring some happiness to her. He was amazed at her transformation and worried sick at the loneliness that seemed to be clinging to her.

 

She looked up in surprise and a smile lit her face as pleasure colored her cheeks. “I missed you as well, Mr. Padalecki. So did the dogs. I’m not as much fun as three big burly guys, am I?” she asked teasingly of the dogs.

 

 _ **Not true! You very much fun! You play with us lots!**_ Sadie protested and barked as she bounced around her.

 

 _ **Jared never play as much with us as you do! We have to beg and beg and he still no play as much as you!**_ Harley declared firmly as he turned his head away from his master, which earned laughs from Jensen and Jeff and a small giggle from Analise as Jared stared at them.

 

 _ **Jeff just likes to cuddle...he forget I like to play in his old age,**_ Bisou added snootily and stuck her nose in the air as she sat primly at Analise’s feet. Jared’s guffaw matched Jensen’s as Jeff stood gob smacked by the statement.

 

“Looks like you turned them against their owners, Analise!” Jensen commented as he snorted with laughter.

 

“When they’re the only ones who want to be around you, you tend to spoil them,” Analise admitted quietly as she smiled down at the dogs before turning, thus she missed the concerned looks that passed between the three men. “I have dinner going so I shall leave you. Bisou, Sadie, Harley...I’ll see you around. Be good with your boys, ok?” she said before kneeling and hugging the dogs, who whined as they understood that she was going without them.

 

“Wait, um...Analise why don’t you come over and have dinner with us?” Jared asked hastily as he moved towards her.

 

“It’s not allowed. I’m sorry, Mr. Padalecki. I’ll see you around,” Analise whispered tearfully before walking away quickly.

 

The three men watched her go to her home in dismay. What had gone wrong? Jared looked down as his hand was nudged and he knelt so that he was eyelevel with Sadie. “What is it, girl?” he asked softly as he ran his fingers through her chilled fur.

 

 _ **You go visit her later, ok? Andrew went home for Christmas. She has no one here and spice man not letting her go at all,**_ Sadie told him solemnly and Jared frowned darkly.

 

“Spice man? Who do you mean, girl? Is he hurting her?” Jared questioned his dog in rising worry.

 

 _ **Not hurt with hand...hurt with words. He make sure no one is around her. She always alone unless we with her or Andrew or vision man. She cry at night...it so sad!**_ Sadie answered and whined pitifully.

 

“Well we’ll make sure she doesn’t cry anymore, ok girl?” Jared replied firmly and Sadie’s tongue hung out in a doggie grin as her tail started wagging hopefully. Grinning back, Jared scratched her ear again before standing and looking at his lovers in worry. _Things have gotten way out of hand,_ he said with a grimace.

 

“No shit, ya think?” Jensen retorted before shouldering his bag and resuming their trek to their house. But they stopped suddenly as a feeling of absolute *wrongness* flooded over them, nearly making them ill. They all looked up in shock as Analise’s door slid open abruptly and she stumbled out to lean heavily against the banister, heaving for air just as several other houses became more active with screams of shock and shouts of dismay.

 

Suddenly, a larger figure emerged from a house farther down the path and rushed down the stairs with a halogen lamp swaying from an arm. “Jared my boy, so good to see you! We need your help,” the figure declared before it was revealed to be Jamison McCormick, a relation to the founder of McCormick Spices Inc and also one of their influential members of the Elam.

 

Jared stopped as that clicked with him. ‘Spice man…Jamison must be who Sadie meant…’ he thought and scowled briefly before focusing on Jamison, who slowed down at the sight of the frown. “What can we do for you, Jamison?” he asked softly, now wary of the older man. He glanced down when Sadie whined and nudged his hand and he knew that he’d drawn the right conclusion.

 

Clearing his throat as he pulled his evening coat around his large body, Jamison flashed a smile. “It would seem that we’ve gotten some kind of a leak in our sewer system. I was wondering if you could use your ability to find it and stop it,” he asked as he tapped his fingertips together, a nervous habit he’d picked up some time in his youth.

 

“Do I *look* like a freakin’ plumber to you?” Jared demanded with a huff, suddenly tired and frustrated with everything that was happening. He was weary from a long day, worried sick about Analise, and just wanted to relax, but now this old fart was asking him to fix a sewer pipe?!

 

Jamison opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted. “Let me. It’s worse than you think. It’s contaminating the land because whoever set it up didn’t insulate it well enough,” Analise said as she came over to where they were standing. She smiled slightly as the dogs whined and inched closer to her, but they stayed put as she confronted McCormick.

 

Turning to her, Jamison’s smile took on an oily tilt. “Chosen One…I couldn’t *possibly* ask such a thing of you!” he protested sweetly and Jared barely held back his growl of anger at the obvious flattery the man was putting out.

 

“You didn’t. I volunteered. Sadie? Harley? Bisou? Can you sniff it out and take us there?” Analise asked softly as she looked away from McCormick in obvious dismissal and Jared wanted to cheer, which he felt Jensen and Jeff barely restraining themselves from doing as well.

 

 _ **We go! You follow!**_ Sadie replied as they ran forward with their noses to the ground. Suddenly, Bisou barked and took off towards the outskirts of the town near a large stream that ran nearby and was followed swiftly by the other two dogs and the five humans. They arrived at the stream edge, which was shining black with sewage and dead grass and Analise swayed to a stop, gagging as she bent over and heaved.

 

“Analise!” Jared cried as he went immediately to her side and held her steady. She gasped for air and leaned into him, then pushed them backwards so they weren’t on top of the mess.

 

“S-Sorry…still don’t have a handle on my running,” she whispered before turning her face into his chest and he held her tightly to him, soothing her.

 

“It’s ok…just breathe…” he murmured to her and she held onto him tightly and he could feel her taking comfort in his presence. After a bit, she pulled back and took a deep breath. “You ok?” he asked as he brushed his hand over her face and she nodded and smiled at him.

 

“Well, Jared…if you’re quite done bothering the Chosen One, perhaps we can take care of whatever’s the problem,” Jamison huffed out as he glared at Jared.

 

“Her name’s Analise, you jackass, and if you talk about her like that again, so help me I’ll-” Jared stopped as a hand was laid on his arm.

 

“It’s ok. No more fighting,” Analise whispered as her face turned from him and Jared looked over to see a triumphant smirk on Jamison’s face. Hackles rising, Jared fought to contain his rage at the controlling manner with which Analise was being put through and eventually calmed down. Analise went over and smirked at Jamison as she took his lamp. “I’m borrowing this. I’ll get you a recharge on it later, ok?” she stated sweetly and the comment made Jared want to laugh. She might comply with things, but she still had her own wit.

 

Jamison opened his mouth to protest but backed down when several glares, both human and dog, were sent his way. He smiled his oily smirk again and bowed to Analise. “Whatever you need, Chosen One,” he simpered and Jared knew he wasn’t the only one fighting the urge to throttle him.

 

Analise bowed her head before holding up the lamp and looking at the damage. She sighed and shook her head, then brought her hand up and pulled her mitten off with her teeth. She closed her eyes and placed her hand on the base of the lamp and a soft glow emanated from the lamp and flowed into her. The light went out after a bit, but Analise continued to glow as she put the lamp down and then removed her other glove. She walked over as if in a trance to the mess and knelt in the snow. She placed her hands at the edge of the area and a grunt of concentration left her as a shockwave of light spread over the area towards the town and down into the ground. When the glow had dissipated, the area was pristine and sparkling in the moonlight and even the stream was gleaming with its clean waters.

 

Slowly, Analise collapsed to her side and was instantly surrounded by Jensen, Jared, and Jeff as well as three whining dogs. Jamison stood back with a superior look on his face. Looking over as he held Analise to him, Jared snarled low in his throat. Somehow the whole thing felt like a set-up…a test. But the extraordinary thing that Analise had just done outweighed the other plans for a bit. He was more worried about how drained she was and refocused on her. “Analise. Come on baby…wake up…” he whispered as he shook her just a bit while tapping her cheek lightly.

 

Her eyes slid open and looked up at him in a daze before she smiled slightly. “Mr. Padalecki. Thought…thought I was dreaming…” she mumbled as she blinked sleepily.

 

“Not a dream, baby. We’re here…” Jared whispered as he smiled back at her. He helped her to sit up and she rubbed her head with a shaking hand before they pulled her mittens back onto her slender hands.

 

“Do you want some energy from me, Analise?” Jeff asked gently as he rubbed his hand over her hand, warming the shaking limb as best he could.

 

Shaking her head slowly, Analise took a deep breath and tilted her head back, absorbing the moonlight it seemed before she smiled at them. “What I’d like is to be off of this cold wet ground,” she stated and they laughed before helping her up. Her smile slipped as she focused on the smirking Jamison. “Your pipe was busted, but it was too clean to just be a burst. I suggest you search for a saboteur in your house, Mr. McCormick,” she spat out acidly as she glared at him and his smirk slipped away.

 

“I don’t know what you me-” Jamison protested but was stopped as she seemed to spark with her rage with little flickers of light traveling over her body.

 

“People, animals, plants, and other life in this area could have died from your stunt, Mr. McCormick. I suggest that you watch your back because Mother Earth knows what you did and she won’t tolerate it from one of her chosen,” she snapped at him before heading back for the town followed by all but McCormick.

 

He stared after her in shock, then rage. How *dare* she berate him like a child! But what was more concerning to him was how she knew it had been him that had burst the pipe. Shrugging it off with a grumble, McCormick headed back to Eden and his dinner that was waiting. Time for that later.

 

*~*~*

 

Analise looked over her shoulder at the three men that were following her along with the three excited dogs. She arrived at her home and gazed at them unemotionally before turning and going up her stairs to her house. She stopped midway and looked down at them again as they watched her. “Just a small warning because I don’t know what’s being told to you three: Don’t try to be around me anymore. The locals get all het up at people who aren’t my family trying to be familiar with me. I don’t want you in trouble and I don’t want anymore strife,” she said softly and tried to ignore the hurt and anger that flashed over their faces. She knew the anger wasn’t at her, but it still injured her deep inside where she thought she couldn’t bruise anymore. She looked away and sighed. “It is good to see you three again. Have a Merry Christmas,” she added before continuing up the stairs and into her home.

 

Jared watched with Jensen and Jeff as Analise went inside of the house before he looked at them. “McCormick is up to something and we have to make sure it doesn’t take root anymore. You know what our duties are,” he declared softly and they nodded.

 

“Her heart is nearly beaten into submission. No matter what, we have to reignite her love for people and this earth,” Jeff whispered as he held a hand over his heart where the symbol of their bond with her throbbed with their worry for her.

 

“Let’s hope we do it before she breaks completely,” Jensen murmured before turning away and heading towards their own home. Jeff and Jared followed slowly after a final glance at Analise’s darkened home. Their jobs had just become a whole lot harder.

 

TBC

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

 

Warnings: Threesome sex at the beginning!!

 

‘thoughts’

_Telepathic speech_

_**Animal speech** _

 

Jared grunted as he gripped the sheets under him and pushed back hard onto the cock that was taking him. He opened his eyes when a hand brought his head up and greedily took in the cock that was presented to him for swallowing. He groaned as he was penetrated from both ends and sucked hard on the cock that was pushing to the back of his throat with small thrusts. He shifted onto his elbows and spread his knees, a silent invitation for more as he deep throated Jensen’s cock.

 

He moaned around his mouthful as the thrusts became deeper and harder from behind, pushing him further onto Jensen’s cock and stroking his prostate with every hit. He slurped his way up the leaking flesh and gasped as he was forced down again, burying his nose in the wiry pubic hairs that met him.

 

“Come on, boy...take it...thaaat’s it...you’re such a cock whore...” Jeff’s voice rolled out from behind him and it turned him on even more with its gravelly pitch that rasped over his nerves. He jerked as he was spanked suddenly, the sound of the slap hitting his backside echoing around the other noises they were making and causing him to cry out before being muffled again. He whimpered as Jensen gripped his fingers in his hair and pulled and it was just enough to send him over the edge. With a muffled shout, Jared shot his load onto the rumpled sheets, shuddering with pleasure as Jeff continued to pound his ass.

 

“Yea, do it Jeff...plough his ass...” Jensen growled as he pulled his cock from Jared’s gasping mouth and stroked it while watching Jeff lean over Jared and thrust rapidly into Jared. Their grunts rose as Jeff neared his climax and Jeff leaned his head in to kiss Jared hard as he thrust a few more times before stiffening, his groan melting into Jared’s mouth as he came deep inside of Jared. They stayed locked in a shaky kiss before Jeff rolled off of Jared and fell onto the bed, panting hard. Jensen grinned before slipping a condom on and positioning himself at Jared’s stretched hole. “Ready for round two, baby?” he murmured and Jared looked over his shoulder at him and bit his lip as he rubbed his waiting hole against Jensen’s head. “Yea thought so...” Jensen purred huskily before pushing into Jared with one thrust.

 

Tossing his head as he was filled again, Jared groaned before letting his head fall to the bed. An arm snaked around his chest then and pulled him up and back, impaling him even more on his lover’s cock and he couldn’t help the whimper that left him. “Ah fuck...god yea Jen...give it to me...” he rasped out as he sat back and spread his legs, his hard cock already leaking again between his legs as he looked down to watch Jensen’s cock move in him.

 

“You always were a voyeur...” Jeff muttered and the two younger men laughed softly as they moved together. Jeff watched them with a small smile, taking in the sight of Jensen’s cock pushing up into Jared’s willing body and Jared’s completely debauched state. He loved watching them just as much as they loved watching him.

 

Jared’s head rolled on Jensen’s shoulder as he moaned in pleasure when Jensen began thrusting harder into him. “God yea...fuck me...fuck me Jen...god feel so good...” he muttered before he was suddenly pushed to his knees. He shouted as Jensen immediately began thrusting hard and fast into him, shaking the bed and all Jared could do was grip the sheets and take it. He cried out as he came for a second time and Jensen snarled as he thrust once more before coming hard deep within Jared’s body. They both collapsed to their sides as they gasped for air and Jeff moved closer to them and slid an arm around Jared’s waist.

 

They didn’t say anything for awhile and just relaxed with the afterglow in the early dawn. They knew they’d have to get up soon to go to breakfast, but for the moment they just enjoyed each other’s company. Finally, it was the scratching and whining at their bedroom door that made them get up slowly and get ready. Jensen took a shower while Jeff and Jared took care of the dogs before they showered. By the time they were done, it was almost seven in the morning, so they headed for the communal eating hall with the dogs bouncing around them.

 

As they approached Analise’s home, the dogs stopped and whined while looking up at the house. The three men stopped as well as the dogs trotted towards the steps, then back to them in hope. _**We bring her? Yes?**_ Bisou asked softly as she nudged Jeff’s hand with her snout.

 

“I don’t think so, baby,” Jeff murmured as he pet her before glancing at the other two.

 

“Fuck this,” Jared snapped suddenly and he strode over to the stairs and took them two at a time, followed excitedly by Sadie and Harley. He knocked on the door and peered inside, then smiled as Analise came to the door and opened it. “Hey! Good morning!” he greeted her somewhat nervously, suddenly uncertain on how to approach her.

 

She smiled slightly at him before tilting her gaze away just enough so that she wasn’t making direct eye contact. “Good morning, Mr. Padalecki. What can I do for you?” she asked quietly and the smells of breakfast suddenly floated out to him.

 

He blinked in surprise as he caught the scents. Everyone met for breakfast... “Um, actually…Jeff, Jensen, and I were wondering if we could walk with you to breakfast, but um...” he trailed off, uncertain.

 

“I don’t go to the communal breakfast,” Analise murmured and she turned away a bit to focus on the food she was cooking, putting it all to simmer with a wave of her hand. She then turned back to him, giving him her attention. “But thank you for thinking of me. Have a nice day,” she added and smiled a little at him before slipping back.

 

“No um...wait!” Jared protested and held his breath when she stopped and looked up at him guardedly. “We’d...really like to spend time with you. So...couldn’t you come this time? I mean...you’ll be with us and everything and...um...” He stopped and bit his lip before looking at her pleadingly.

 

She blinked then sighed as she grinned, her face relaxing as she leaned her head against the door. “Oh why did you have to use the puppy dog eyes on me?” she asked quietly, teasingly as she smiled coyly at him and he grinned widely at her.

 

“Because I need to use whatever I can to convince you,” he murmured as he leaned in closer to her and she smiled at him.

 

With a sigh, she rolled her eyes and shook her head before shutting off the food and putting it all into the refrigerator. “Oh all right...I suppose I can do it this once for you,” she said in exasperation and Jared laughed as Sadie and Harley barked happily while bouncing around them. She grabbed her wool wrap and tugged it around her as she came out and stood in front of him, face pulled into a mock scowl. “It’s not fair since you used the patented Sam Winchester puppy dog eyes of doom,” she stated and he laughed again before taking her hand and heading down. She smiled as she saw Jensen and Jeff watching them in delight and nodded to them when they all got to the ground. “Good morning, Mr. Ackles, Mr. Morgan,” she greeted them.

 

“I feel like we’re in a school yard greeting students,” Jensen commented dryly as he grinned at her and she smiled shyly as she looked down.

 

“I agree. I know I’m old, but not old enough to warrant such elderly treatment,” Jeff responded with a smirk before reaching out and ruffling her hair. She peeked up and her eyes softened as she smiled at him and he let his fingers run through her hair soothingly, smiling in response as she leaned just a bit into his touch.

 

Her hands came up and she poked her fingers together as she looked down at the ground. “So um…should we go?” she asked quietly and Jared gave into his impulse and hugged her to him.

 

“Yeup…m’starved!” he declared and grinned as she smirked at him.

 

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so busy so early in the morning,” she commented lightly before stepping away as the three men choked and the dogs barked while following her.

 

 _How’d she know…no, never mind…I don’t want to know…_ Jensen muttered between them and Jared snorted with laughter while Jeff just chuckled as they followed her towards the communal hall. They got in line and were joined by Mike, who started chatting with them. They noted that Analise was very quiet and sought to bring her into the conversation, but she kept silent as various other people glanced at them in offense when they acted so close to her.

 

They arrived at the buffet and the three men stared in shock as several of the people bowed to Analise and began dishing her food up for her. She kept her eyes down, grim and resigned as she was served differently from everyone else. Jared moved forward and stopped one of the ladies. “Hey…um, she can serve herself,” he said with a smile and took the plate.

 

The lady scowled at him and took it back. “She is the Chosen One! It’s our duty to serve her and make sure she isn’t troubled!” she snapped before resuming her dishing.

 

Jared opened his mouth to protest but stopped as a hand slipped into his own. He looked down and was greeted by a pained smile from Analise. “Please…it’s ok. They…it’s what they’ve been ordered to do,” she whispered unhappily.

 

“But…” Jared sighed as she looked down and shook her head. He squeezed her hand before starting to get his own food, frowning as he was glared at for his interference. Jensen and Jeff were also frowning angrily, but they stayed quiet in deference to Analise’s request. They went into the main hall after Analise was given her tray and sat down towards the back. Their concerns rose as everyone bowed to Analise as she passed and she nodded at them with a fake smile on her face that faded away as soon as she slid into her seat across from Jeff and in between Jensen and Jared. She curled in as much as possible, but they wouldn’t let her pull from them and pressed close.

 

They ate and talked and pretty soon, Analise was smiling and making remarks to some of their stories as she relaxed. Suddenly, a tiny hand tugged on Analise’s sleeve and she turned in her seat and smiled at the little girl that was next to her and Jared. “Yes little one?” she asked politely and grinned as the little girl shuffled her feet while clutching at a ripped doll.

 

“E-Excuse me, Ch-Chosen One…but…but Alice is…is sick and…and could you make her better?” the little girl asked in a small voice before peeking up with her light blue eyes.

 

“Janelle! What are you doing!? You shouldn’t bother the Chosen One!” A young woman rushed up and grabbed the little girl before facing Analise, whose face had fallen slightly. “Forgive her, Chosen One. She didn’t mean to interrupt your meal,” she begged quietly and Analise sighed softly.

 

“She wasn’t bothering me, Annie…please, it’s ok,” Analise whispered and the others could tell she was retreating into her shell. But she still reached out for Janelle, who beamed and came forward. “Now what happened to Alice, Janelle?” she asked with a semblance of her natural gentleness.

 

“She jumped off of our house! She got all bumped!” Janelle explained solemnly as she held up the doll. Jared, Jensen, Jeff, and Mike stifled their laughter and even Annie could be seen hiding a smile as Janelle waved the very sad looking doll.

 

“Oh my! Well, she can’t fly yet, can she? Shall I kiss it and make it better?” Analise asked as she held out her hand and smiled as the doll was placed in her hand.

 

“Please! Help Alice?” Janelle begged and the entire hall was quiet as they watched the scene.

 

“Since you were very polite, I shall see what I can do,” Analise replied with a chuckle before reaching over and touching one of the small lights that was in the side of the wall. A small glow went into her and she brought the doll to her lips. As everyone watched, the glow passed to the doll and it was soon pristine, fixed, and in the little girl’s arms once more. Janelle squealed happily and hugged Analise tightly then kissed her on the cheek as she thanked Analise for helping. Annie came over and smiled as she bowed before taking Janelle away. Smiling happily, Analise turned in her seat and beamed at the four men.

 

But not a couple of seconds later, her sleeve was tugged on again and she turned to find a small group of children gathered by her, watching her pleadingly as they either held their own injuries or broken toys that were obviously well loved and used. Jared bit his lip on his grin as Jensen, Jeff, and Mike all snickered softly into their hands while Analise faced the group. They noticed the nervously hovering parents nearby, but since Analise ignored them, so did they. Analise began talking to each of the kids, relaxing and fairly beaming as she played with them or made them feel better and soon the children were calling her Analise and not ‘Chosen One’.

 

However, the peace was not to last. A loud voice cleared imperiously behind them and everyone looked up to see Jamison glaring at the children, who cowered back. He smiled insincerely at Analise as he stalked forward and the children backed away fearfully towards their suddenly wary parents. “Chosen One. I’m sorry that these…children…have sought to bother you. I assure you it won’t happen again,” he growled out before shooting another glare at the children, who whimpered and scampered to their parents’ arms.

 

“Please forgive them, Chose-” one of the fathers started, but stopped as Jared stood up angrily.

 

“You had *no right* to say that! They’re just kids and they weren’t hurting anything! If anything, it made it even clearer that Analise was happy to help us!” he snarled in rage and Jensen and Jeff rose as well, glowering menacingly at Jamison as he faced them.

 

A couple of other men came to stand behind Jamison, sneering superciliously at them as they backed up Jamison. Jamison leered at Jared. “The Chosen One shouldn’t waste her time on such petty things. She’s above us all and is to be worshipped for her destiny as the bridge and conqueror of the evil that is human kind,” he declared piously and bowed to Analise, who was grim and pale.

 

“What a load of bull!! Yes, she’s special, but she has stated it many times that she wants to be equal to us all! You’re just using her for your own schemes!” Jared shouted in fury as he strode forward and grabbed Jamison’s shirt, yanking him forward as he snarled in the man’s face.

 

“Be careful, Jared…you might be her Guardian, but you are not the one to make the decisions for our people,” Jamison replied quietly, his voice deadly with his contempt.

 

“And neither are you, you stuck up asshole!” Jared snarled back as he shook Jamison. Jamison’s men moved forward as did Jensen, Jeff, and Mike, but they stopped suddenly as if stuck and growled in displeasure. Jared and Jamison suddenly parted unwillingly, frustration and surprise on their faces as they tried to understand how they were moving.

 

Suddenly, Analise stood between them, her face impassive as she moved her arms out, separating them further. “If this fighting continues, I will punish you all myself. You will not speak that way in front of the children, nor will there be such violence,” she stated quietly and let her arms drop to her sides, releasing them. She looked at all of them coldly, tense and shaking, but her very demeanor didn’t allow Jared, Jensen, or Jeff near her. “From the get go, all of you have treated me like I’m special and above all of you and I’m tired of it. I’m not like that, but none of you have even taken the time to get to know me.”

 

She looked at the parents as they held their kids close and smiled sadly. “I will always welcome children…anyone…who wants help. It’s no trouble…it never was. And it’s *not* beneath me. I think it’s one of the greatest joys,” she said quietly before looking down. “Jamison…I will never be your tool and neither will the rest of the Elam. Get over yourself. You’re a pathetic man that has forgotten who he is and you make me sick. Stay away from me and from everyone else, if you and your cronies know what’s good for you. As for the rest of you…if you’re going to treat me like some kind of goddess or priceless commodity, then stay away from me. I don’t want to have anything to do with any of you. I just want…I just want to belong and have friends,” she declared and her voice cracked at the end. She looked over at Jeff, Jensen, and Jared and smiled tremulously before making her way out.

 

As soon as she left, everyone began to murmur among themselves and Jared was barely holding back his sorrow at the defeat that had been in her gaze. He turned towards Jensen, Jeff, and Mike, but stopped as he felt fury at his back and turned back to find Jamison all but radiating his wrath. “How…dare she speak to me like that…” he hissed out before turning on his heel and stalking off after Analise.

 

Jared, Jensen, Jeff, and Mike along with a few others ran after him and surrounded him, blocking him from following her. Jared faced off again with Jamison as the older man’s powers began to act up with his rage. “You will not…touch her…Jamison,” Jared stated quietly as he braced himself against the man’s power. Jamison had the ability to control the wind and water and it was now whipping about them as his wrath spiraled out of control.

 

Sneering at them, Jamison held up a hand, but suddenly, the wind dropped. He gaped and stumbled back as his eyes turned to Jensen, who was watching him intently. “You…”

 

“You won’t be hurting anybody. Analise’s right. Your vendetta is killing us all. We’re all equals…” Jensen ground out as he controlled Jamison until he felt the man’s capitulation.

 

“The Faithful are growing stronger and you expect us to just sit back and let them kill our own when we have the Chosen One!?” Jamison roared out as he glared at them.

 

“Her name is Analise Treber and she’s a human being just like the rest of us! None of us know what her path is, but isolating her and treating her like you have been will end up with her turning her back on us!” Jared shouted back and Jamison stepped back a bit. “You all have failed her! She came here scared, alone, and with no way to talk to her friends or family and you all abandoned her! For what?!”

 

No one looked at him, not even Jamison, and Jared had a moment of bitter satisfaction at having finally gotten through to them. “We are all we have for each other outside of our families. We’re each others’ family and friends and if one of us is hurting, all of us are hurting. Surely you’ve noticed how grim it is around here…without a doubt you’ve *felt* her pain at your rejection and isolation. Why would she want anything to do with you since you so coldly turn away from her and leave her feeling like she is a pariah?” Jared pointed out quietly. He turned to Jensen and Jeff. “Let’s go check on her,” he suggested quietly and left with them to go to Analise’s house. Climbing the stairs, he shifted a bit on his feet as Sadie and Harley whined up at him. He knocked on the door and they waited, holding their breaths.

 

When an answer didn’t come, Jared sent a gentle probe into the house, searching for Analise. Not finding anything, he frowned in confusion. “She’s not home. Where would she be?” he wondered aloud and looked at his lovers.

 

 _ **Maybe she by the waterfalls? She like taking us there,**_ Sadie offered as she wagged her tail hopefully.

 

“Then let’s get over there,” Jeff responded and they headed down and towards the waterfalls that were just outside of the colony. They walked along until they arrived at the clearing and found Analise sitting on the snow-covered bank next to the icy pond. Her arms were curled around her knees as she stared into the waters that continued to flow, if albeit sluggishly with the winter cold. Sadie, Harley, and Bisou ran forward and nuzzled up to her, whining as she looked at them in surprise before petting them sadly.

 

“You guys don’t have to be here. I know it’s just obligation, but I never-”

 

“You can stop that already. We’re here because we want to be,” Jared cut her off as he plopped himself down next to her as his lovers did the same. “We might be your Guardians, but we also want to be your friends. Stop trying to push us away,” he added with a lopsided grin to her as she looked over at him while leaning her cheek on her knees.

 

She watched him silently and then sighed quietly. “You’re so stubborn, Mr. Padalecki. What do you see in me outside of being the Chosen One?” she asked in a small voice and Jared gave in to the whim to wrap an arm around her and tug her close.

 

“I see one of the warmest, gentlest, kindest ladies that have ever entered my life…our lives. I just…wish you’d call me Jared!” he replied and she giggled against his chest as she turned into his hold. He rested his cheek on her head and kissed her hair. “We’re here for you. Just call for us,” he murmured and she sighed before nodding. He smiled as Jeff and Jensen both scooted closer and leaned in so that they were all nice and cozy. Jared had a feeling that things were going to start getting better now that people had come to realize that Analise deserved just as much caring as the rest of them. He only hoped that they could make it up to her and be able to get her back to her normal life until the time came for them to live their destinies.

 

TBC

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

 

‘thoughts’

_Telepathic speech_

_**Animal speech** _

 

Humming as he helped baste his mother’s buns in the pan before putting them back into the oven for another five minutes, Jared smiled as he listened to his mom and sister talk about things. It always amused him how much they could gossip about things as if they hadn’t just spent three hours the previous night doing the same thing. He finished just as he felt his cell phone buzz in his jeans and pulled it out and floated it to his ear. “Hey! Merry Christmas!” he said in greeting while putting the buns into the oven.

 

“Hey yourself. How’s your mom?” Jensen asked over the other line and Jared grinned.

 

“She’s fine. She’s finishing up our turkey as we speak and I just put the buns back into the oven for their glaze,” Jared replied before winking at his mom when she glanced at him. “Jensen says hey,” he explained.

 

“Jensen better come and visit soon or I’ll whip him with this towel! And Jeff as well!” Sherri retorted and Jared grinned as Jensen laughed.

 

“Yes ma’am,” Jensen said and Jared repeated it, which got a giggle from Megan and his mom before they returned to their cooking. “So are we still on for doing that thing?” Jensen asked idly and Jared knew that it was what had been on Jensen’s mind the whole time.

 

“Yea, so far as I know. Eliza is going to pick up Jeff before coming here, so if you want, you can come over and then she won’t have to make another trip. Andrew’s going to meet us there and get us inside since he knows the place best,” Jared answered before grinning at his questioning mother. “Hold on,” he said to Jensen before covering the mouthpiece. “We’re going to sneak over to Eden at about two in the morning and set up Christmas for Analise,” he told them. “She doesn’t have any decorations and none of her family’s going to be able to be with her for Christmas, so we’re doing this for her,” he added and smiled as Sherri’s eyes became soft with sympathy.

 

“You better take her some of our treats, boy! Or I’m going to whip you good!” she threatened her son and wiped at her eyes as she turned back to the turkey.

 

Jared grinned widely. He loved his momma. “Ok, I’m back. Momma was threatening me to take some of our candies and such. So what’d you get Analise?” he said as he walked out of the kitchen to talk in private with his boyfriend.

 

“This really soft blanket. It’s dark green and has blue and purple wavy stripes in it. What about you?” Jensen answered and Jared could hear him shifting in the background and knew he was in his bed.

 

“I got her some hair jewelry. Sophie said she loves sparkly hair jewelry, so I got some hair clips for her. Do you know what Jeff got her?” Jared asked as he went onto the back porch and looked up at the sky. It was a clear night for Christmas Eve and he was kinda glad. He had to remember to wear his thick coat for their trip though…the weather channel had said it was snowing heavily in the Smokies.

 

“I think he got her some CDs. He told me that he went onto her Amazon dot com wish list,” Jensen responded and chuckled.

 

“Smart boy…” Jared growled and grinned as Jensen laughed softly. “So what’d you get me?” he asked sweetly as he leaned against the porch pillar.

 

“Nothing I’ll tell you now. You’ll get it later,” Jensen growled and Jared snickered.

 

“Fine, be that way.” Jared sighed and Jensen snorted at him. “So I’ll see you at one or so?” he asked as he heard his mom call.

 

“Yea. Eliza said she’d send a call to us just before picking us up. She said that we’re also supposed to make sure we have some decorations for her tree. What’d you get?” Jensen said and Jared bit his lip.

 

“I got those old fashioned glass ornaments and those old bubbly lights…you remember those?” Jared inquired as he thought back on his youth when he’d just stare at those lights for hours.

 

“Yea, I do…nice choice. I know she likes those,” Jensen remarked and Jared couldn’t help the grin at the confirmation. “Ok, now *my* mom is calling! I’ll see you around one!” he stated and Jared smiled.

 

“Yea definitely. Merry Christmas. I...I love you,” Jared answered hesitantly. They didn’t express their feelings often, but the holidays brought it out in him all the time.

 

“Yea…um…love you too,” Jensen responded tentatively and Jared grinned, imagining Jensen rubbing the back of his neck like he would when having to admit to such feelings. “See you.”

 

“Later man. Drive safe,” Jared returned and smiled as they hung up. Their plan had to work. He wanted her face to light up with happiness.

 

“Jared honey? Everything set?”

 

Looking over his shoulder at his mom, Jared smiled even more. “Yea momma…everything’s good. I think she’s going to really like it,” he answered her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders when she came up to his side.

 

“She’s real special to you, isn’t she?” Sherri asked as she stared out over the backyard and leaned into her youngest son.

 

“Yea. She’s not just the Chosen One to us. She’s…” Letting out a soft sigh, Jared looked up at the sky again. “She’s like Jensen and Jeff to me.”

 

“And Jensen and Jeff? How do they feel?” Sherri inquired as she looked up at her son’s face.

 

“The same. We all feel a strong connection with her as her Guardians. But we also feel things that can grow if we try. It’s hard being away from her. It’s like I’m aching from being apart from her, almost like I ache when I’m away from Jeff and Jensen for too long,” Jared explained and looked down at his mother.

 

“A real soul bond, hmm? It’s about time you three got that last piece. We all were wondering if maybe Sati was crazy when she’d said that,” Sherri murmured as she looked back out. She sighed and smiled as she shook her head. “Well, time to eat anyways. Git in here and clean up!” she ordered as she went back inside.

 

“Yes ma’am!” Jared called back and looked up at the stars for a bit before turning to go inside. Time flew for him as he ate, opened presents, and just hung out with his family before going to Midnight Mass. Soon, it was about one and they drove into their driveway and he saw Jensen’s truck. Getting out, he bounded over to his lover who was leaning against it and kissed Jensen deeply as they hugged. They parted when Megan whistled and Jared blushed a bit as he stepped back a bit, but still kept his hand laced with Jensen’s.

 

They all went inside after Christmas greetings and hugs were shared all around. Jensen and Jared then went into Jared’s room as the rest of the Padalecki clan got ready for bed. Jensen pulled out a present and grinned at Jared’s delighted look. “Thought, since it’s Christmas already, that I can give this to you,” he explained gruffly and grunted as Jared hugged him enthusiastically before shoving a present at him.

 

“Totally agree and we’ve got some time,” Jared responded before plopping onto his bed and opening the present eagerly, to Jensen’s amusement. He smiled up at his lover as Jensen sat down next to him on the bed and opened his present a bit more carefully. Opening the box, Jared crowed as he pulled out the latest football game. “Dude!! I love you! And I’m so wiping your ass with this!” he cried and Jensen laughed.

 

“Yea, yea, we’ll see,” Jensen retorted before opening his own box. He laughed as he pulled out a digital recording camera, one of the more expensive professional kinds. “Jared! This…this!!” He stopped, speechless as he pulled it out of its box and looked it over. He looked over at Jared and smiled brilliantly before leaning in and kissing Jared deeply.

 

“I have a request though,” Jared murmured into Jensen’s mouth as he put aside his present.

 

“S’at?” Jensen purred as he licked at Jared’s mouth.

 

“The first thing you record is you, me, and Jeff…” Jared growled and Jensen laughed as he leaned back.

 

“You want my first recording debut to be gay porn?” he asked teasingly and Jared grinned wickedly.

 

“Damn straight,” he responded before leaning in for another hungry kiss. But, before they could get hot and heavy, they both jerked as something _pinged_ them.

 

_Guys, I know you are just sooo wanting to get at it, but I’m coming by in a couple of minutes. Be ready to go. Oh, and Jeff says to save him some of that…wait, I don’t even want to know…_

 

Jensen and Jared both laughed at Eliza’s disgust and helped each other up and out of Jared’s room. Sherri kissed them both on the cheek and handed Jared a large container that was most likely holding enough treats to feed five people instead of one. Jared went to the garage as Jensen went to his truck and they grabbed their own bundles and met outside of Jared’s house just as Eliza and Jeff appeared. Jensen and Jared hugged Eliza before kissing Jeff in greeting and wishing each other Merry Christmas before Eliza grabbed their hands. “All right! Now remember…not a sound! I’ve already told Andrew that we’re coming and he’s my link to where we’re meeting!” she ordered and they nodded before preparing to go. Their world became dark and then light again and they looked around to find themselves in Eden.

 

“Eliza, you’re a doll,” Jensen declared and grinned at her as they parted.

 

“Hey! There you are!” Andrew stage whispered as he came over and grinned at them. They found that they were at the bottom of Analise’s stairs and got to work as soon as they finished greeting Andrew. Jensen and Jared started to put lights up along the banister of the stairs and all around the porch as the other three went into the house and started decorating and setting out the food in there. They were done in an hour and, thanks to Jensen keeping Analise asleep, were able to leave without disturbing her. The final gift from them was when Andrew brought over a cat carrier from his house and let three cats out. Eliza had set up their kitty pans and food in the nook by the washer and dryer and Jared, Jensen, and Jeff couldn’t help but play with them a bit before they left. The three cats, Dusty, Jessie, and Angel, all went towards the guest room then and curled up around their mistress, who was sleeping peacefully with soft Christmas music playing in the background.

 

Jared found himself watching her sleep along with his lovers for a while as Eliza and Andrew finished putting the presents out under the tree. He longed to go and curl up with her and knew his lovers felt the same, but they didn’t. Instead, they turned and left with Andrew and Eliza, making sure that the timers would turn the lights on properly before leaving. At the bottom of the stairs, they all stared up at Analise’s house for a minute, then let Eliza take them back to their places as Andrew went to take the Path to where he was going. Jeff promised to call later to check on when they were getting together and they got a couple of kisses in before Eliza huffed and made them part. Jensen and Jared grinned at each other before going to Jared’s bedroom and curling up together. It was too late for Jensen to drive back and he was exhausted, so they settled for sleeping.

 

A few hours later, Jensen drove off for home and Jared returned to his family for the present opening. But just as he got to the living room, his cell phone vibrated. Pulling it out, he smiled broadly as he saw the text.

 

**You made me cry. Thank you. Merry Christmas, Mr. Padalecki.**

 

Grinning, Jared replied with **You’re very welcome. Merry Christmas, Analise.** and then joined his family. Nothing could have made him feel bad at that moment. Nothing at all.

 

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

 

‘thoughts’

_Telepathic speech_

_**Animal speech** _

 

Grinning as he watched Sadie, Harley, and Bisou run through the snow, Jared trudged alongside his lovers in the snow banks towards Eden. It was a couple of days before New Year’s and they were going to visit with Analise since her family was spending time away from Eden to keep her safe, though she didn’t know it. He smirked over at his lovers, excited that they were going to see her and they grinned back. They had all gotten a text from her in thanks, but they all knew that she had more than loved their gifts to her.

 

The dogs’ suddenly joyful barking broke through Jared’s thoughts and he looked over along with Jensen and Jeff to see them running as fast as they could towards a cloaked figure that was strolling along the main pathway of Eden. All three of them felt their hearts leap as they saw Analise’s happy smile as she knelt to meet the dogs, hugging them as they licked and jumped at her ecstatically. She laughed and hugged them, petting them as she whispered to them and the three men picked up their pace to get to her. She smiled up at them as she pet the dogs briskly and stood up as they arrived. To their shock, she hugged them each. “Thank you,” she whispered to them and smiled sweetly at them as she stepped back. She grinned as the dogs nudged her. “Welcome back. Did you have good Christmases?” she asked as she started walking with them back towards Eden.

 

They told her about their Christmases and she was laughing with them at the funny parts and smiling fondly at their more tender moments. They soon arrived at their home and she grinned at them. “I’ll see you guys around, I suppose. Try not to get into any trouble,” she teased them and it heartened them to see her so carefree. According to Robert’s call earlier that week, she’d been welcomed more often by their fellow Elam and she was all but glowing with the acceptance. She left them before they could invite her inside to hang out and they watched her go to her home nearby.

 

Jared glanced at his lovers with a wide grin. “Now I *know* why she is the Chosen One,” he declared softly and they nodded in agreement.

 

“C’mon…let’s get in and have some hot cocoa. I’m freezin’ my ass off here!” Jensen stated as he took the stairs two at a time and got inside as Jeff and Jared laughed at him. The dogs ran up eagerly as well and sniffed around as they put away their luggage and relaxed for a bit, watching a game of football for a while. They didn’t have to be back for any filming until mid-January, so they were going to enjoy their time off.

 

As it got closer to evening, Jared got up and grinned at the other two. “I’m going to take a walk,” he said as he slipped on his thick coat.

 

“You mean visit Analise,” Jensen retorted with a leer.

 

Waving his hand, Jared rolled his eyes. “You’re not *always* going to be right, ya know,” he responded and Jensen snorted in amusement as he snuggled into Jeff’s side and returned his attention to the game.

 

“Give her hugs from us and if she asks, we’re not going to constantly bombard her with all three of our sexy selves,” Jensen remarked lazily and Jeff and Jared laughed at that.

 

“Later!” Jared called out and then trotted down the steps with Harley and Sadie right alongside him. As soon as they hit the bottom, the two dogs were off like a shot, racing down the pathway towards Analise’s house before bounding back impatiently and then taking off again as Jared strolled along behind them. Jared arrived at Analise’s house and noted that the lights on the inside were off except for the Christmas lights, so he walked up and knocked. He felt a brush on his mind and grinned as the door swung open.

 

“S’open, Mr. Padalecki! Come on in and leave your boots at the door!” Analise’s voice floated out from the hall and Jared grinned.

 

“I’m going to get you to call me Jared soon enough!” Jared remarked as he toed off his boots and let the dogs sniff their way inside. She laughed at him and he could hear her greeting Sadie and Harley. She shrieked and cursed suddenly and Jared felt his heart hammer in alarm as he felt her panic, so he ran down the hall. “Analise! Wha-Whoa!” he cried and barely scrambled out of the way as three puffy furballs scrabbled out of the room and darted towards the master bedroom, followed by two excited dogs. “Sadie! Harley no!” he shouted as he ran after them, followed quickly by Analise.

 

“Oh please don’t fight! You can be friends!” Analise sobbed out and Jared barely had time to look at her before she was diving for Harley and Sadie with him. They grabbed the dogs and forced them back as the three terrified cats hissed and growled from their perch on top of the wardrobe. “Dusty! Jessie! Angel! Come down! It’s ok! Sadie and Harley are friends! They’re Mr. Padalecki’s dogs and won’t harm you!”

 

_**They big! Analise, they attack!** _

 

Jared tried to figure out which one of the puffed up cats had replied as he tried to calm down his own dogs. Analise stood up on her tiptoes as she reached for the nearest. “No, Angel. No my baby boy. Sadie and Harley want to be your friends! Come on…come on down…come on,” she pleaded and Jared noticed the blood that was trickling down her arm little by little from several scratches that looked pretty deep. Slowly, the three cats calmed down, but they still growled as they jumped down to the bed and instantly ran to the pillows, as far away from the whining, eager dogs as possible.

 

“Ok you two, go over there real slow and you five just…sniff or whatever. No licking and no naughty stuff, all right?” Jared told his two dogs gruffly and they whined and nodded before going over slowly to the bed and putting their heads on the pillows, watching the three very wary cats with wide innocent eyes as their tails wagged encouragingly.

 

Analise went to Jared and plopped down next to him as she sighed. “Oh man, I forgot how they get with dogs…” she muttered as she looked at her injuries.

 

Jared took her hand into his and examined the wounds. “Man, that’s deep. Want me to get Jeff?” he asked lowly as she reached for a Kleenex while they kept an eye on the cautious pets.

 

“Nah. I’ve got some cream that I can put on it. We don’t have to trouble Mr. Morgan,” she answered as she pressed the Kleenex on the cuts and wiped away the blood before sucking on the scratch near the joint of her thumb. She looked over again and smiled as she saw that Sadie was being cleaned along her head by Dusty and looked very sleepy and happy. “All right you guys. We’re going into the living room. Coming?” she said as she stood up and offered a hand to Jared. The dogs barked and ran off towards the room around them and the cats jumped down and sauntered out.

 

Grinning, Jared took her hand and stood up with her help and ended up wrapping his arm around her waist as she wobbled a bit unsteadily. “Hey…you sure you’re ok?” he asked softly as he held her hand close to his chest.

 

“I’m fine. It’s called ‘compensation for a big guy using me as a pulley system’,” Analise retorted with a wide grin and Jared laughed before letting her lead him out to the living room. “I’m got some chai going…want some?” she asked as she went into the kitchen to get the cream she had talked about and to turn off the whistling teapot.

 

“Sure, thanks!” Jared replied as he sat down in the plush sofa near the fire. He sighed dreamily as he watched the animals stretch out in front of the fireplace to soak up the heat that was radiating from the stones. He looked up when a mug was put in front of his face and grinned at Analise as he took the mug. “Thanks.”

 

“No prob,” she answered as she sat with one leg curled under her and her body facing him while she sipped on her chai. Her hands glistened with the cream she’d put on the scratches and he could see that they were clotting already. She looked at him and grinned as she held up her hand. “See? It’s oooook, Mr. Padalecki,” she stated teasingly and he laughed as he took her hand.

 

“Amazing stuff you’ve got. What is it?” he asked as he examined her wounds.

 

“Neosporen,” she answered and he laughed again as she grinned at him and took another careful sip of her hot drink. She nudged him with her foot and he turned more towards her. “So care to tell me why you’re visiting?” she asked with a smirk and he grinned self-consciously.

 

“Just…wanted to see you. That’s all,” he replied and peeked up at her through his hair.

 

“Duty?” she retorted and he rolled his eyes as he smirked.

 

“I know Andrew told you that we are your Guardians and such, but we also have minds,” he responded sarcastically and she grinned into her cup.

 

“Really now? Up or down?” she inquired lightly and he snorted as he shook his head. She shrugged and smiled somewhat. “Eh, doesn’t matter. Packers aren’t playing today, so I’m kinda bored,” she added and winked at him. “I got all of my other stuff done, so I was just reading online.”

 

“Reading what?” Jared asked automatically and then blinked as she grinned wickedly. He felt warmth curl in his belly at the look and had a serious desire to see that look in a more sensual setting. He flushed and took a hasty drink of his chai, then spluttered as he burned his tongue.

 

“Oh you dork! What’d you do that for?!” Analise cried as she put her mug aside and grabbed his before he spilled on himself, then raced to the kitchen. She returned with a rag that was holding some ice. “Here…oh are you ok?” she asked as she sat down near him and gave him the rag.

 

“S’fine,” Jared managed before putting the ice on his tongue. He felt like such an idiot for doing that! He closed his eyes then opened them as a light hand cupped his cheek. His eyes met hers and she smiled at him.

 

“M’sorry. This was my fault somehow, wasn’t it?” she whispered and let her hand drop.

 

“No!” Jared retorted almost immediately and grabbed her hand, making her look up at him. “No, I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing,” he explained quietly and squeezed her hand reassuringly. He didn’t mention that it had been his naughty turn of thoughts that had made him so distracted. He was humiliated enough, thanks.

 

“You sure you’re going to be ok?” Analise asked softly as she took the rag that he handed back to her after sucking the ice into his mouth.

 

“You know burned tongues. They take forever to heal,” Jared answered self-deprecatingly.

 

She grinned naughtily at him and he almost choked at the arousal that shot through him. “You could always have Mr. Morgan heal it...thoroughly,” she commented and he nearly gagged on his ice as she giggled and ran to the kitchen.

 

“You little snot!” he managed and chased after her. She shrieked and laughed as she dodged away from him, but he wrapped a long arm around her waist and lifted her up, making her shriek again and giggle as she wriggled, trying to get free. She batted at him and kicked the air helplessly, but they were both laughing so hard that they didn’t go very far.

 

“Let me down, you Sasquatch!” she cried as she giggled and he laughed as he spun her a bit. Finally she managed to wriggle free and dashed back to the living room as he chased her. She cried out as he grabbed her and they fell to the ground when he tripped as she spun to face him. He landed on top of her and they both grunted. “Oooh that didn’t feel good…”

 

“You ok?” Jared asked gruffly as he pushed himself up a bit and stared down at her in concern and tried not to note how close they were. Their faces were inches apart and they were flushed, sweaty, and panting with their recent play.

 

“You try and be ok when a six foot four inch gigantor hunk lands on you,” Analise retorted and grinned as he huffed a laugh and shook his head. She pushed at his broad shoulders. “C’mon, get up. You’re heavy,” she growled and he grinned as he settled himself closer to her.

 

“Not till you say my name,” he murmured and felt triumph as she flushed a deep red.

 

“M-Mr. P-Padalecki-” she started but he stopped her with a finger on her lips.

 

“It’s…Jared,” he whispered as he stared at her intently and she swallowed hard. He watched the movement, intense longing shooting through him as her pale skin flushed. His eyes returned to her gaze and he grinned as he removed his finger.

 

“J-Jared…please…get off of me,” Analise requested shakily as she pushed at his chest feebly. She bit her lip as he shifted to rest an arm above her head, placing their faces just mere inches apart. “J-Jared?”

 

“What is it about you that makes me just want to worship you?” Jared whispered suddenly as their breaths matched in speed while he studied her face. “You’re so sweet and funny and have the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. From the moment I saw you, I wanted you and it hurts so much being away from you.” He ran his fingers through her bangs slowly, intimately as he brought his gaze to hers.

 

“Don’t say stuff you don’t mean,” she whispered weakly and he flashed a grin as he looked down at her mouth.

 

“I never do,” he responded and felt her shiver as his lips brushed over hers. She didn’t respond as he tested the waters, brushing his lips ever more boldly over hers as she stayed still under him. He deepened it just a bit as she sighed and suddenly he was kissing her hungrily as she responded finally. She pressed up into him and moaned as their mouths molded together and parted, sharing their breaths as well as their touches as they kissed. He flicked his tongue out and groaned as she answered eagerly with a surge of her tongue against his. He ran his other hand down her side as he shifted his body up to deepen their kiss and cupped the back of her head. He felt his heart flutter to a stop at her moan.

 

But it didn’t last as she broke the kiss and pushed at him, whimpering. “Off...off!” she cried with a sob and he leaned back in shock and could only watch as she scrambled free from him. She stood up shakily and took a few frantic breaths. “I-I think you should go,” she finally said as she kept her back to him.

 

“What?” Jared asked in surprise as he stood up. He reached for her, but she twisted from him and looked up at him tearfully. “Analise...what is it?” he insisted as he moved closer to her.

 

“We can’t do this, Jared! You’re with Jensen and Jeff and...how can you even *think* of doing this when you’re with them!?” Analise demanded with a sob before ducking under and around him as she went to the kitchen.

 

Stunned, Jared looked after her, and then followed her quickly. “It isn’t what you think! Analise, don’t you feel something with us? With me?” he asked as he went into the kitchen as she filled a glass with water. He watched her sip shakily from the glass and reached for her again.

 

“What is it then, Mr. Padalecki?” Analise asked flatly before looking up at him as she wrapped an arm around her waist. When he didn’t answer, she bit her lip. “I promised myself a long time ago that no matter how desperate I might get, I’d never *ever* help someone to cheat on their significant other.”

 

Shocked, Jared stared at her. Cheat? Did she think...no! He wasn’t cheating on them! He had just wanted to show her a good time! As the thought passed through his mind, he watched in confusion, then dawning horror as her face paled and the glass dropped from her hand to shatter at their feet. He wasn’t sure how, but she’d heard his thoughts even with the shield he, like all the Elam, kept around his thoughts. He reached for her, but she slapped his hand away as a stony mask fell over her face so fast he almost didn’t see it.

 

“Get...out,” she gritted out as she trembled and pointed a shaking finger at the door. “Get out...now.”

 

“Analise wait...you’ve got it-”

 

“I don’t *care*!” she shrieked at him and Jared almost rocked back at the maelstrom of emotions that suddenly flooded over him. “Get out now!” she cried and the door slammed open. Jared found himself propelled back and over the balcony edge only to land softly on the snowy ground. His coat and boots landed next to him and the dogs yelped as they ran down the stairs, eyes wide with shock and hurt confusion as the door slammed shut.

 

Looking up in a daze, Jared could only stare as all of the emotion that had been overwhelming him suddenly cut off as a wall so thick fell between her and him. It felt like a part of him had been ripped out and he knew then that he had hurt her worse than any of the others there in Eden could possibly have. He put on his boots shakily and stood up, but wavered as a hurt sounding noise left him. He sank to his knees and curled up in the snow as he cried, heart aching with remorse and horror for what he had done so unintentionally. He didn’t react when Sadie and Harley nudged him and whined, but the gentle hand on his face got through to him. He looked up into Jensen’s pale face and felt even more horrid for being the cause of it. He knew that his lovers would also feel the break between Analise and them and it was his fault.

 

He let Jeff wrap his coat around him and stood up with their help, but even still, he leaned into their holds as they went back to their home. It was not a minute later when there was a knock on the door and a very grim looking Robert came into their house. He gazed at Jared steadily before finally saying the words that Jared didn’t want to hear ever.

 

“Analise has left us. She has returned home and wishes to be left alone.”

 

 

TBC

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

 

_Telepathic speech_

_**Animal speech** _

Warnings for violence and mild gore as well as torture.

 

The soft sounds of the movie she was supposedly watching floated around the living room as Analise spent her New Year’s babysitting her sister’s two children. She had just put her niece Kayla and her nephew Evan to bed after having let them lift her spirits after all that had happened within the last month. After her break with Jared, she’d returned to her home town, shocking her best friend and room mate with her sudden appearance. She’d had a hard time explaining things to her room mate, but, as always, Maryann knew how to cheer her up. The simple request to teach her best friend how to lose all the weight she had lost was enough to make her more than glad that she’d come home. Even her cats were happy, but they still had cuddled her and tried to comfort her in their own way.

 

She’d called her sister and had, after explaining once more why she was home, asked if they wanted to go out and she could babysit. Her niece and nephew were always a sure way to calm her down and her sister and brother in law knew that, so they’d agreed. She’d gone over early that evening and they had consoled her as best they could, but she had eventually shooed them out to have some fun. Her sister was due soon and they would lose what precious together time they had as is when that happened, so Analise just wanted to make sure they had some fun. At least one of them should...

 

Analise smiled as both Beamer and Reggie, her sister’s cats, hopped onto her lap and curled up with her. Sometimes she felt that it was just the little things that helped her the most and being in contact with people who loved her and accepted her had been like a soothing balm after what she’d gone through in Eden. Her smile flickered as she flipped channels again and found a movie with Jared in it. She watched him and felt her chest tighten with pain at his memory before she moved on to a channel that was still playing Christmas music. She had missed this the most and her sister and brother in law had made her promise to let them take her and Maryann out for a belated dinner as a small family since her parents were in Washington State visiting their brother and his family. She had yet to tell her parents that she’d left Eden, not wanting to worry them but she missed her mother the most at the moment.

 

Shaking off the thoughts, Analise relaxed and closed her eyes a bit. She should really work on her fic that she’d been working on before everything had gone to hell and back, but she just wanted to rest for the moment. Her reverie was broken though when the doorbell rang. Reggie and Beamer looked over, alert and wary as they stared at the shaded window of the door. Smiling slightly, Analise tried to get up and shoo them off. “Come on, guys...let me up,” she whispered fondly.

 

 _ **Do not answer!**_ Reggie suddenly said as he hissed and gripped her leg with his claws.

 

Hissing in pain, Analise sighed and nudged at them. “It’s rude and it’s cold out, guys. Come on,” she ordered in exasperation. Finally, she lifted them off and put them down on the ground before going to the door. She peeked behind the curtain and frowned in disbelief before opening the door. “Max? Max Kant? What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise as she smiled at him and he smiled back at her.

 

“You shouldn’t open the door to people who know what you are,” Max responded darkly and Analise felt fear take her as he sneered at her and noticed the presence of four other black-robed figures. Suddenly, she saw a glint as a knife whipped out and plunged into her right shoulder. Searing pain went through her and she cried out as she gripped his hand and pulled away, only to trip on her shoes at the edge of the doorway. She grabbed her shoulder as she watched him and two of the other people enter the home slowly while she scrambled away. She didn’t move fast enough as Max rushed forward and grabbed her injured shoulder, squeezing it to make her scream in pain. “I can’t believe you were under our noses the *entire*...*time*...*Chosen One*,” he hissed out and grinned evilly, sending shivers of fear course up and down her spine as she stared at him.

 

“Max...why are you doing this?! We were friends! You dated my sister, for Christ’s sake!” she whimpered, then screamed again as he squeezed her wound viciously. _Jared!! Jensen, Jeff!! Help me!!_ she sent out desperately as pain racketed through her.

 

“Your darling sister...the freak that can swim underwater without needing scuba gear and her darling husband who can create water from anything. Oh yea, like I’d *ever* want anything to do with you!” Max retorted in disgust before flipping the dagger he held and stabbing it into her belly. He closed his eyes in enjoyment as she sobbed and choked on her scream before curling in as he yanked the dagger out again.

 

“Max, look who we found,” the female of the trio commented as she came out with Evan and Kayla struggling in her arms futilely as they cried in terror.

 

“Well, well...more of you Elam spawn,” Max drawled as he smirked down at the panting Analise while standing up.

 

“Let them go! Don’t touch them!” she cried, then screamed as Max stepped onto her bleeding stomach.

 

“Aunt Analise!” Kayla wailed as she tried to get free again, then screamed and sobbed harder as she was slapped by the woman.

 

“Now, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to tell us where the Elam are hiding, especially where that nest called Eden is, and we *might* let you die swiftly,” Max said conversationally as he went over to the woman and caressed Kayla’s hair before gripping the curly golden hair when the little girl tried to duck away.

 

Analise stared at them as she gasped for air and clutched her stomach and shoulder. She suddenly grunted as she _pushed_ the woman, forcing her to let the kids drop, then rolled herself to catch the kids and scuttle away as best she could. But she wasn’t fast enough and screamed in agony as she was stabbed in the side and pulled back before falling with the kids. Her hair was seized and yanked, forcing her head back so she was looking into Max’s amused face. “Did you think you could get away? The more you struggle, the faster the poison spreads,” he whispered evilly and she shuddered at the malicious glee on his face.

 

“Poison...” she managed and he nodded amiably before twisting the knife in her side, causing her to groan in pain.

 

“Oh yes. Slow as long as you don’t exert yourself. You wouldn’t want me to put this into these two beautiful children, would you?” he asked sweetly and she swallowed hard as she looked down at her terrified niece and nephew. “I used this very knife on Brendan when I slit his throat at *your* awakening gathering. I loved it,” he growled out as he nuzzled her neck. He pulled the dagger from her side roughly and caressed the bloody tip along her cheek. “Now, tell us what we want to know,” he murmured encouragingly.

 

Shaking and gasping for air, Analise tried to get her senses under control. She had to get the kids to safety somehow. That was all that mattered. Suddenly, Max snarled and shouted as he dropped her and backed up, batting at the two cats that were attacking him ferociously. Analise grabbed Evan and Kayla as Beamer and Reggie got away from the furious Faithful, but she couldn’t move far as she got dizzy from the blood loss.

 

The sound of shattering glass and the gurgle of a man’s throat being cut were all the warning any of them got as several figures suddenly appeared and started attacking the Faithful. Eliza appeared at Analise’s side and grabbed her, but Analise shook her head and gave her the children. Nodding in understanding, Eliza vanished with the children as the fighting grew in the small duplex. The woman was fighting Analise’s brother in law and Jeff and Jensen could be seen fighting the other robed Faithful through the open door. Jared was fighting Max, his eyes flaring with his rage.

 

Woozy, Analise stood up as she clutched at her wounds while she watched the battle and saw Max brandish the dagger that was covered in her blood. He slashed at Jared and Jared was backed up against the wall, but, before Max could sink it into Jared, she rushed in and took the hit, gasping as she felt it hit and sink into one of her lungs. She glared at Max and spat in his face before grabbing the dagger from his hand and plunging it into his chest. She collapsed slowly to the side as she heard Jared’s cries and felt his arms catch her and try to stop her bleeding. She looked up in a fog as she was jostled onto her back in his hold and blinked tiredly at Jared. She felt so cold and leaned into his warm hand.

 

“Stay with me, Analise. You have to stay with me...” Jared whispered tearfully as he cupped her face. “Jeff!!” he screamed roughly and sobbed as he tried to stop her bleeding.

 

“P-Poison,” Analise managed and choked as blood bubbled in her mouth while her lungs filled with fluids.

 

“Oh Gaia...don’t move...shh,” Jared sobbed out as he held her up, trying to help her breathe. “Analise...Analise I’m so sorry...”

 

She smiled weakly at him. “G-Guess I should t-tell you that you’re a-an awesome k-kisser, Jared,” she whispered as she began to tremble.

 

“So are you. Stay with me...” Jared whispered as he smiled through his tears at her. He looked up as Jeff knelt next to them and began checking her. “Jeff, she’s been poisoned,” he said as he rocked her.

 

“Her injuries are extensive,” Jeff murmured grimly as he moved his hand over her. He hissed as he felt his hand burn a bit and wiped it on his robe, getting the poison off. “Need a fuckin’ antidote,” he swore as he looked around. He blinked as a bloody vial was put in front of him and looked into Jensen’s grim face.

 

“The asshole with the dagger had it on him. I relieved him of it,” Jensen explained darkly and Analise chuckled before coughing a bit.

 

“The...kids...” she whispered as she looked up at Jared again before obediently taking the antidote.

 

“Safe.” The simple reply seemed to ease her worry and struggle as her eyes closed and she grew limp. Jared clutched her to him and let out a guttural scream of anguish that was drowned out by the approaching sirens. They couldn’t lose her...not now!

 

He was dragged away from her body as the EMTs came in and began working on her while the police questioned them on what had happened as well as examining the dead bodies of the five Faithful that had come that night. Jared felt numb as he watched the paramedics roll Analise into the ambulance and drive off before he was told that they were going to the hospital. Lane and Kimber, Analise’s brother in law and sister, told them to go clean up and that they’d keep them informed. The children had been taken over to his parents’ place, so they were safe for the moment. But their relief on that luck was overshadowed by the possibility of losing Analise.

 

After checking into a local hotel, Jared, Jensen, and Jeff went to their room and took turns cleaning the blood and grime from them as well as the memories of the one they loved cut open and bleeding to death. While Jared finished showering and went to wait with his lovers for word from Analise’s family, he felt that his world had just fallen into shadows. As he snuggled into Jeff’s hold and cried softly with his lovers, he vowed to make things better no matter what it took.

 

TBC

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

 

‘thoughts’

_Telepathic speech_

 

The quiet sounds of hospital staff bustling on whatever duties they had mingled with sounds of crying, people talking quietly, children, and the machines that were standard fare for the ICU ward. Jared pushed his hands farther into his jeans’ pockets as he walked alongside Jensen and Jeff to the room that Kimber had told them was where Analise was staying. According to Kimber, Analise had suffered from internal injuries, severe blood loss, and a punctured lung. But, since they had gotten the antidote in her in time, she hadn’t had too much damage from the poison. Unfortunately though, she was currently in a coma hooked up to a ventilator. Her family was fearful she might not wake up. They weren’t the only ones either.

 

They arrived at room 512 and went inside quietly, but stopped at the sight that greeted them. Analise was hooked up to several machines and they could barely see her face under the ventilator that was helping her to breathe. The soft beeping noises as well as the pump for the ventilator filled the room as they struggled to find something to say. But their gazes were grabbed suddenly by the chilly green gaze that locked onto them as Sophie Treber slowly rose and put her daughter’s hand on the bed before coming around to them. Her face was still like stone, but rage could be seen flickering in her eyes. Before they could even open their mouths to speak, her finger was up, silencing them as her mouth became a thin line. She pointed towards the door without a word and they obeyed her and filed out in front of her. She closed the door behind her, and then faced them, her arms crossed over her chest as she gazed at them coldly. They all felt her expectation for an explanation, but to be honest, none of them wanted to risk her wrath.

 

Finally, Jeff stepped forward, hands up in a gesture of peace as her eyes snapped to him and narrowed. “Sophie, we just want to see her,” he said quietly and an eyebrow tilted briefly on her face in reaction.

 

“You *want* to see her,” she repeated softly, her voice clipped and icy as well as mocking and the three men started to feel equal parts exasperation and worry curdling through them. Her lips twisted a bit as she looked at each of them slowly, assessing them and they ducked their heads like school boys before their teacher after being caught in a prank. “*You* want to see her. Too bad you’re not family. I suggest you leave the premises before I call security and have you escorted off, saviors or not,” she finally stated before turning towards the door.

 

“Wait! Sophie...please. We just...we have a right to see her,” Jared desperately pleaded, but stopped as the windows rattled a bit, a sure sign that Sophie was not as controlled as she seemed.

 

She turned slowly back to them and they all flinched almost physically at the fury that was in her eyes. “You have the *right* to see her. Is that the *best* you can come up with, Jared?” she hissed out as she pointed at him. “You take my daughter from a life that she has always known to a place where she ends up isolated. You come in and *rescue* her from the isolationists, only to turn around and think to use her for your own gain. And then, because of *your right*, she leaves the safety of Eden *before* it is safe to do so and is now barely hanging on in *that bed*. Now tell me, *Jared*...do you honestly see me as senile enough to allow the three men responsible for putting her in this situation to even breathe the same air as her?” she retorted and her voice rose slightly, but it never went hysterical, which showed just how pissed she really was. She walked straight up to Jared and glared up at him, making him feel like he was three years old and being scolded for something that he’d done. He avoided her gaze, but he could still feel her watching him. “Your delusions of grandeur have seriously eroded your intellect,” she whispered coldly.

 

Stepping back, she turned her gaze from one man to the other, searing them with her fury. “I don’t want you *near* my daughter *ever* again. You broke her heart and her spirit. I’ll *never* let you hurt her again. Now leave before I call security. And if I see you here again, you will know what it means to be a eunuch,” she stated firmly before going back into the room and shutting the door decisively behind her.

 

The three men stared at the door in a mixture of shame, remorse, and real fear. The very idea that Analise might not make it terrified them, but what Sophie had said was true. They were responsible for what had happened. With a quiet sigh, Jared sunk down into a nearby chair and cradled his head in his hands as despair rolled over him. He heard some soft rustlings and felt his lovers’ presence next to him, but they were just as lost in their thoughts. How were they going to make up for this?

 

“We have to see her...” Jensen suddenly whispered huskily and Jeff and Jared looked over at him in disbelief.

 

“What part of ‘eunuch’ didn’t you get?” Jared asked incredulously as he stared at his co-star. “We go in there and I doubt that she’ll let us get away with a whap on the ass! She was serious!”

 

“But if we don’t see her, she might die because she doesn’t have a connection with us. Can’t you feel it?” Jensen replied insistently as he faced them. He placed a hand over his heart, right where the symbol of their bond was. “I think that we’re the only ones who can help her back to consciousness.”

 

“But how? And how would we get in there? Knowing Sophie, she’ll be like a mother hawk and will prolly never leave unless absolutely necessary,” Jeff pointed out grimly as they considered Jensen’s words.

 

“We’ll just have to sneak in when she goes for a break. We can deal with the repercussions afterwards, but we need to be with her. The bond we have with her has been slowly eroding away since we haven’t really been trying to bond with her. She was wary and defensive with us before and now it’s not strong anymore. I’m not saying that we have to sleep with her, but the trust has to be re-established. We have to get *through* to her,” Jensen insisted as he watched his lovers. He tapped his symbol again. “I know you guys can feel it.”

 

Nodding, the other two men sighed heavily. “Then I guess we better set up camp to watch,” Jared declared quietly before standing. They went over towards an unused room that gave them a good view of Analise’s room and put up shields so that they weren’t detected by their fellow Elam as they went in and out of Analise’s room to visit her. Their cover was almost blown at one moment when Kayla had insisted that she wanted to visit Aunt Analise’s ‘boys’ and had started towards their room, but Kimber had grabbed her in time and had swept her off to get some food in the cafeteria, which had given them the suspicion that perhaps she had known they were there and was trying to help.

 

When visiting hours ended, they watched as Sophie went with her husband and their family to get some dinner. After making sure that the coast was clear, they crept into the hallway, keeping to the side wall as they saw a couple of nurses at the nurses’ station. Jensen leaned around Jared and waved his hand, making the nurses look the opposite way and Jared couldn’t help snickering a bit at that. He winked at Jeff as he got a cuff upside the head and then they headed into the room. Jeff closed the door behind them and shut the blinds on the windows before joining the other two at Analise’s bedside.

 

Jared was seated on Analise’s right side while Jensen sat in the chair next to Analise’s left, so Jeff sat on the bed, careful to not jostle the bed too much. They were silent for a while, just touching her or holding her hand as the machines continued to hiss, beep, and whirr around them.

 

Finally, Jared placed his forehead on the hand he held and whispered, “Analise...I-I know you can hear us. I believe that you can, so I’m going to explain something to you that we hadn’t had the time to tell you. Jensen, Jeff, and I are your Guardians. We’re connected to you through a bond that is stronger than any other bond, even family. And yes, we’re lovers, which strengthens the bond. In all honesty, when I came to visit you that day that just seems so long ago, I had only gone over to visit. I didn’t want to seduce you. Well...” He grinned and glanced up as Jensen and Jeff both snorted then all three sighed. “The thing is, we want to get to know you. We want to be able to say that we courted you and swept you off your feet before showing you that we’re pretty good in bed as well,” he explained quietly and flashed a grin at his lovers before reaching a hand for Analise’s face. He caressed her cheek and bit his lip as he remembered how she’d turn into his touch as if seeking that tenderness.

 

“We’ve screwed up and we realize that, but we didn’t mean to,” Jensen said quietly as he kissed her hand and placed his cheek against her cool fingers. “If we’d met in better circumstances, it definitely would have been different. But my momma always told me to not go by ‘if, then’s and to go by what you have. So what we have is now. And you’ve got to wake up so we can make sure that there is more to go with, baby. We’re not talking about all of our destinies. We’re talking about what’s right there in front of us,” he stated before placing a hand just above her heart. “Right now, you’re what we need. And I hope...we hope...that we’re what you need.”

 

“You have to wake up, sweetie. Your smile...your light...we miss it so much. We miss *you* so much,” Jeff whispered roughly as he rubbed her ankle. They fell silent again and just touched her, taking comfort in being with her and each other.

 

The comforting silence was broken by a throat clearing and they all looked up in surprise. They stood up immediately as they came face to face with Sophie and Gerrad Treber. She glared at them as she radiated with her fury. “I warned you to stay away from my daughter,” she hissed out and they backed away from her towards Analise instinctively.

 

“Sophie, we needed to see her. You don’t understand,” Jeff protested quietly as he held his hands up defensively once more.

 

“Oh I *understand* all right! You boys are obviously deaf as well as stupid!” Sophie snarled back as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I warned you no-”

 

“Analise?” Jared’s soft incredulous question stopped Sophie mid-rant and Jeff turned immediately to find Jensen and Jared bending closer to Analise with her hands gripped in theirs. Jared caressed Analise’s cheek tenderly as he smiled. “Come on baby. We’re all waiting for you...” he whispered encouragingly. As they watched, Analise’s eyes fluttered and then opened slowly. She blinked sleepily and then looked up until her gaze met Jared’s. Smiling tearfully, Jared knelt on the ground and leaned as close to her as possible. “Welcome back, baby. Have a good sleep?” he asked and swallowed hard around his tears as she smiled slightly and nodded just a bit.

 

“So good to see your pretty eyes,” Jensen murmured thickly and smiled as she looked at him. He kissed her fingers and squeezed them, feeling his heart fly when she squeezed back weakly.

 

Her eyes shifted up tiredly and she smiled again as she saw Jeff, then her parents bending into her line of sight. _How...long?_ she asked weakly and Jared shh’ed her.

 

“Don’t tax your strength,” he ordered softly and she rolled her eyes.

 

 _You’re...not my mom..._ she retorted and he snorted with laughter as the others grinned or chuckled. She tried to swallow and gagged a bit.

 

“Don’t try to swallow or breathe, sweetie. Your lung was punctured on the low right side and it’s still healing. You had lacerations in your abdomen through your large intestine and a pretty deep wound in your right shoulder,” Sophie explained as she moved around the bed so that she was standing just to the side of Jared. “You’ve been in a coma for about four days.”

 

Closing her eyes, Analise squeezed Jensen and Jared’s hands as tightly as she could, which wasn’t very much. _The...kids?_ she asked after a minute before opening her eyes to look at them. _Are they safe? What about...what about Max?_

 

“The kids are safe. In fact, they’re outside in the hall with Kimber and Lane,” Gerrad said as he moved over to Jensen’s side. “And Max...”

 

“Max is dead and he’ll *never* hurt you again,” Jared whispered fiercely as he cupped her face. Analise looked over at him and he smiled at her.

 

 _What now? Too...dangerous..._ she managed thickly and Jared wiped away the tears that ran down her cheeks.

 

“Yes, it is. That’s why it was decided that your entire family is to move to Eden. They’ll keep their jobs and use the Paths to travel, but the rest of the time, they’ll be safe in Eden. Your room mate is coming too, just to be safe. They’ve already let their various landlords know that you and they are moving and your parents are making sure to lock down their house with your brother in law’s special security system so it won’t be burglarized,” Jensen explained and Analise smiled and nodded once in acceptance as her eyes closed.

 

“I think that’s enough for now. We should let her rest and let the doctor do his job,” Jeff murmured with a touch to Jensen’s shoulder and a look at Jared. “Let’s step out and let her be with her family,” he suggested with a glance at Sophie and Gerrad.

 

Nodding, Jared and Jensen stood up carefully, and then the three men each kissed her on the cheek and whispered their good-byes before straightening and heading for the hallway. Before they stepped out though, they heard a whisper and looked over. Analise gazed at them and smiled. _Please come back soon. I...miss you,_ she whispered and they all smiled at her and nodded before leaving the room.

 

Jared’s eyes shone as he looked at his lovers before they turned to Lane and Kimber and their kids. Somehow, they just knew that things were going to be good from then on.

 

TBC

 


End file.
